Trump signs executive order to split up MMR vaccine

President Trump issued an executive order Monday calling for fewer childhood vaccinations, splitting the childhood MMR vaccine into three shots and delivering vaccines at separate medical visits.

Why it matters: Controversial vaccine policy changes are roaring back ahead of the midterms .

The executive order states that "the combined MMR vaccine should be administered in three separate single-disease shots once such products are domestically available and that, to the maximum extent feasible, all childhood immunizations should be administered at separate medical visits." The big picture: Health Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisers last fall called for splitting up the MMR shot and overhauling a central component of childhood immunizations.

But the White House urged Kennedy to back off of such contentious policymaking earlier this year.

And yet, President Trump has recently questioned Kennedy about the lack of momentum on childhood vaccine policy, per the Wall Street Journal, signaling his continued strong personal interest in the topic.

What he's saying: "You have the MMR.

We want it in three separate vaccinations, given at separate times," Trump said at an Oval Office signing event.

He suggested the MMR vaccine could be "quite lethal" when administered all at once, and likened the volume to "a bottle of soda." Reality check: The CDC says there's "no published scientific evidence [that] shows any benefit in separating the combination MMR vaccine into three individual shots." It says there can be a "very small risk" of febrile seizures and extremely rare cases of serious allergic reactions, but that getting the MMR vaccine "is much safer than getting measles, mumps, or rubella." In addition, vaccine safety experts at CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree the MMR shot is not responsible for recent increases in autism diagnoses.

"I'm a doctor.

This executive order is wrong.

The President does not have the expertise to make these changes," Sen.

Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chairman of the Senate health committee, wrote on X .

"Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots.