Medical groups reject Trump’s order on childhood vaccines

Organizations representing physicians are objecting to President Trump’s executive order calling for changes in childhood vaccinations.

Trump issued the executive order Monday calling for states to revise their vaccine schedules. The order calls for splitting up the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots for each disease. The order would also trim the number of vaccines recommended for all children from 18 to 11, and no longer advises all children should get the flu vaccine, saying it should be a shared decision.

The Trump administration has said children are getting too many vaccines and has linked vaccinations to a rise in autism, even though numerous studies have found no link.

The president issued the executive order even as measles cases in the United States have reached a 35-year high, with nearly 2,500 cases reported so far in 2026, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Medical societies have rejected Trump’s executive order.

Andrew D. Racine, MD, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, cited the number of measles cases and the upcoming flu season in saying that the executive order is “not only disheartening but dangerous.”

Racine also faulted federal health officials for spreading “misleading claims” about vaccines. He said the order is ill-timed, as children are going back to school or will return in the coming weeks.

“There is no new evidence to justify significant changes to childhood immunization guidance,” Racine said in a statement. “Dozens of studies involving millions of people show there is no link between vaccines and autism, and yet federal leaders continue to promote this outdated, disproven idea to scare families. Today's executive order will do nothing to support families of children with autism or advance understanding of the condition.”

‘Putting children’s health at risk’

Willie Underwood III, MD, president of the American Medical Association, also spoke out against the executive order. He said changes in recommendations for childhood vaccines should come after exhaustive study from experts.

“Decisions about how and when vaccines are used should be driven by rigorous scientific evidence, patient safety, and independent medical and public health expertise,” Underwood said in a statement. “Altering a proven vaccination schedule without credible evidence risks weakening public confidence and putting children’s health at risk.”

Ronald G. Nahass, MD, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said the White House recommendations would make vaccinations more “complicated and burdensome,” potentially leading to declines in vaccination rates. Splitting up the MMR vaccine would require three separate visits to physicians.

• Read more: Family doctors face more vaccine confusion

‘An alarming pattern’

Nahass also alluded to previous statements about vaccine safety, including the Trump administration’s repeated calls for more studies of links between vaccines and autism.

“This action follows an alarming pattern of government efforts to reduce Americans’ access to vaccines and sow unfounded doubt about vaccine safety and effectiveness,” Nahass said in a statement.

Jan K. Carney, MD, president of the American College of Physicians, said the order is “problematic and deeply concerning.”

“This executive order is part of a troubling pattern by the administration to attempt to unilaterally change vaccine guidance, particularly for children, rather than relying on the transparent, scientific review that has guided the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule for decades,” Carney said in a statement.

She also pointed to the added costs and hassles for families if the order was adopted.

“If implemented, the changes could increase costs to patients and families, including additional copays while also placing a greater burden on families needing to schedule multiple appointments for a multiple-dose MMR vaccine. Children and caregivers deserve better consideration for the downstream impact of these proposed changes,” Carney said.

‘Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe’

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and a physician, issued a statement saying that the executive order is “wrong.” The chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Cassidy cast a crucial vote that paved the way for the confirmation of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but has spoken more critically of the Trump administration's health policies, specifically on vaccine safety. Cassidy lost his re-election bid in the Louisiana GOP primary, with Trump campaigning against him.

“The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” Cassidy said in a post on X. “Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism. Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots. It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe.”

“Parents should listen to their child’s pediatrician about vaccines rather than listening to an inaccurate executive order. This is so wrong,” Cassidy said.

Legal battles

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and other groups filed a lawsuit when Kennedy revised the federal recommendations on childhood vaccines earlier this year.

In those revised guidelines, the government dropped the recommendation of the flu shot for all kids, saying it should be a shared decision with parents. The health department also dropped its guidance for all kids to get respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines.

A federal judge issued an injunction in March blocking the health department’s changes in recommendations to the childhood vaccine schedule. The American Academy of Pediatrics has retained its guidance for childhood vaccines.

In its new executive order, the White House referred to litigation delaying the administration’s efforts to revise the vaccine schedule.

The executive order noted that individual states set mandatory vaccination requirements. But the order also calls on states to review the executive order and consider updating their laws, and says federal agencies will take actions against states that aren’t protecting parental authority and religious objections.

A host of states led by Democratic governors filed suit earlier this year to block the Trump administration’s previous effort to revise the childhood vaccine schedule. It’s likely that some states will ignore the order and pursue legal remedies to block it.

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen, a pediatrician, said splitting up the MMR vaccine creates unnecessary barriers for families and “needlessly extends the window of risk for our youngest residents.”

“Here in Pennsylvania, we will continue to follow the facts and evidence-based medicine to keep our children and communities safe,” Bogen said in a statement.

Jake Scott, MD, a clinical associate professor of infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine, identified one critical law in the administration order in an op-ed for CIDRAP. The only measles vaccines produced in America are combined with the mumps and rubella shots.

“There is no measles-only vaccine available in the United States. There is no mumps-only vaccine and no rubella-only vaccine, either,” Scott wrote.

Medical societies are urging families with questions about vaccines to talk to their doctors.

“Putting our children’s health at risk is not an option,” Underwood said.