Trump signs executive order calling for fewer childhood vaccinations

U.S. ‌President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday calling for fewer childhood vaccinations by limiting the inoculation schedule to 11 immunizations, ‌which he said would give U.S. children "gold-standard" protection and align the country with peer nations that recommend fewer shots.

The order advances a long-standing goal of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist who has promoted a link between vaccines and autism that scientists have repeatedly debunked.

It also ​recommended splitting the childhood MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine into three shots and delivering the shots at separate medical visits.

Kennedy ​had in January cut the U.S. immunization schedule to remove shots against six out of 17 diseases — a move halted ​by a federal court ruling. The Trump order says ⁠that the federal ⁠government will now only support the ‌remaining 11 shots.

Even as the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations, it is the states, not the federal government, that have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order advises states with school vaccine mandates consider updating their laws to reflect the administration’s preferred schedule, according to a White House fact sheet.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, praised the order for "bringing greater clarity and transparency to vaccine recommendations," but Democratic governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania criticized the order.

"Measles are already on the rise in our country, and they want to continue to spread dangerous misinformation instead," Pritzker said on social media.

Why do childhood vaccine recommendations differ across Canada — and around the world?

The order directs the Justice Department to challenge state vaccination laws, instructing the attorney general to sue over state laws the administration says conflict with parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations and equal protection, including rules on religious and medical exemptions from immunization mandates.

"Here in Pennsylvania, we trust experts, doctors, and parents to make the best decisions for our families — not conspiracy theorists," said Shapiro.

Medical associations, public health experts and vaccine makers also criticized the order.

The main outcome would be "confusion for parents," said Dr. Aaron Milstone of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases. Conflicting messages, he added, would likely lead parents to delay vaccination.

Merck said there is no published scientific evidence showing any benefit to splitting the combination MMR shot into three, and that using the individual components increases the number of injections and can lead to delayed or missed immunizations.

Kennedy has previously led efforts to drop universal recommendations for hepatitis B shots for children and reduce the list of recommended vaccines, citing links to autism that scientists have repeatedly debunked.