US President, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order slashing recommended childhood vaccines to 11 diseases and calling for the MMR shot to be split. The move has sparked sharp criticism from doctors who warn of greater risk to children.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing a sharp reduction in the number of diseases American children are routinely recommended to be vaccinated against, while also calling for the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be broken into three separate shots.

The order, titled “Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans,” was signed in the Oval Office on Monday. It limits universal recommendations to just 11 diseases and reclassifies several others as suitable only for high-risk groups or shared decision-making between parents and doctors. Public health experts and medical organisations have condemned the move as based on discredited ideas that will leave more children vulnerable to preventable illness.

What the Order Changes

The new “gold standard” schedule recommends immunisation for all children against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV) and varicella (chickenpox).

Dropped from the universal list are vaccines or protections against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal ACWY, rotavirus and influenza. These would instead be advised only for certain high-risk populations or left to individual discussions between clinicians and families.

The order also pushes for the long-used combined MMR vaccine to be separated into three single-disease shots once they become available in the United States, and for childhood immunisations to be given at separate medical visits rather than in combination on the same day. Trump has long argued that spacing out shots is safer, a view rejected by major medical bodies.

White House officials presented the changes as aligning the United States with peer developed countries that recommend fewer childhood vaccines. A prior HHS scientific assessment had claimed American children receive more shots than those in many European nations. Spokesperson Kush Desai said developing single-disease options would give parents “more options on timing and frequency” and could increase uptake.

Claims of Autism Link and “72 Shots”

During the signing ceremony, Trump repeatedly linked the volume and timing of childhood vaccines to rising rates of autism spectrum disorder. “That’s a big one in my book,” he said, referring to autism concerns. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine sceptic, has previously claimed American children receive 72 shots under the current schedule – a figure that includes pregnancy vaccines and counts individual components of combination products.

Scientific consensus, based on decades of large-scale studies, firmly rejects any causal link between vaccines and autism. The current CDC-recommended schedule is similar to those used in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. Combination vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective, reducing the number of injections and clinic visits while maintaining strong protection.

Doctors and Lawmakers Push Back Hard

Medical experts described the order as driven by pseudoscience. Tim Jones, chair of the Royal Australian College of GPs Specific Interests Child and Young Person’s Health, told the ABC the recommendations would “muddy the waters on the safety and effectiveness of childhood immunisation” and harm infants who cannot advocate for themselves.

“He is harming infants who have no ability to advocate for their own health by continuing to peddle harmful, unsubstantiated claims at parents,” Jones said.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician and chair of the Senate health committee, was equally blunt. “I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong,” he posted on social media. “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. The president does not have the expertise to make these changes.”

Vaccine manufacturer Merck noted there is no published evidence supporting the benefits of splitting the MMR vaccine. Doing so would increase the number of injections and raise the risk of delayed or missed immunisations. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which has previously sued the administration over vaccine schedule changes, said it was evaluating its next steps.

Legal and Practical Limits

It remains unclear how much practical force the order carries. Vaccine recommendations are traditionally set by the CDC director on advice from the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices. An earlier attempt by the Trump administration in January 2026 to scale back the schedule was blocked by a federal judge as part of ongoing litigation by medical groups.

Public health law expert Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University said the Supreme Court’s view of presidential power could allow Trump to pressure CDC Director Erica Schwartz. “This is clearly the first test for Dr Erica Schwartz,” he noted. “The president is placing her in an untenable position.”

School and daycare vaccine requirements are set by individual states, not the federal government. The order merely advises states to consider updating their laws to match the new federal preferences and directs the Justice Department to pursue legal challenges against states that the administration believes inadequately protect religious or medical exemptions.

Parents would still be able to obtain the full range of currently available vaccines, and insurance coverage is expected to continue.

Timing Heightens Concerns Over Measles and Hesitancy

The order lands as US kindergarten vaccination rates have fallen and exemptions have reached record highs. The country is in the grip of a significant measles outbreak that has already infected more than 2,400 people, almost all unvaccinated, and caused three deaths. Experts warn the United States risks losing its measles elimination status.

Kennedy recently urged parents to vaccinate against measles while taking no responsibility for the surge that many attribute partly to vaccine scepticism promoted by him and the administration. Jones warned that the latest order would further erode confidence both in the United States and internationally. “Without confidence in the lifesaving properties of widespread vaccination of children, further children are going to die of preventable diseases – a travesty.”

Health authorities stress that childhood vaccines undergo rigorous pre-licensure studies and ongoing safety monitoring. Spacing shots across more visits, they say, increases the chance a child contracts a preventable disease between appointments. Combination products deliver strong protection with fewer needles and lower overall burden on families and the health system.

The executive order also directs HHS to develop plans within 90 days for single-antigen vaccines, alternative adjuvants, dose timing research and enhanced safety monitoring. Whether manufacturers will produce separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for routine US use remains uncertain; they are not currently available for that purpose.

As schools reopen after the summer break, paediatricians and public health officials face a more complicated landscape. Many states and medical organisations continue to follow the pre-Trump CDC schedule. The coming months will test how far federal recommendations can reshape practice on the ground and whether further court challenges will again constrain the administration’s efforts to rewrite long-standing childhood immunisation guidance.