President Donald Trump signed a new executive order Monday aimed at changing how the federal government recommends childhood vaccines in the United States.
The order, titled “Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans,” was signed August 10 and directs federal agencies to recognize a new three-tier system for childhood immunizations. The White House says the goal is to bring U.S. recommendations closer to those used in other developed countries while giving parents more flexibility in making vaccination decisions.
Under the new framework, 11 vaccines or immunizations are listed as recommended for all children. They protect against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, pneumococcal disease, HPV and chickenpox.
Other vaccines, including those for hepatitis A and B, influenza, COVID-19, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, RSV and dengue, are placed in categories for certain high-risk groups or for decisions made jointly by parents and doctors.
The order also calls for the combined MMR vaccine to eventually be offered as three separate shots for measles, mumps and rubella once individual products are available domestically. It further directs federal agencies to consider administering childhood vaccines at separate medical visits when practical.
The White House says the changes are based on an HHS assessment comparing the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with recommendations in other developed countries. That assessment concluded that the United States recommends more childhood vaccines than its peer nations.
However, the policy has drawn strong criticism from major medical and public-health organizations. The World Health Organization defended evidence-based childhood immunization schedules, while medical groups have questioned the scientific basis for reducing routine recommendations and separating the MMR vaccine.
The executive order does not simply ban the vaccines that are no longer listed as routine recommendations. Instead, it changes how the federal government categorizes and recommends them. States and territories are also being encouraged to review their own immunization requirements, including rules connected to school attendance.
The changes are expected to affect parents, pediatricians, insurers and schools as federal agencies work through the new recommendations.
For parents, the biggest change is not that childhood vaccines are disappearing, but that the federal government is changing which vaccines it routinely recommends for all children and which ones will depend on a child’s individual circumstances.
