JONATHAN M. METSCH, Dr.P.H. – Tracking Emerging Public Health Challenges – August 10, 2026 – MEASLES
The order builds on other efforts by Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reshape and whittle down the number of childhood vaccines — shoving controversial vaccination policy back into the mainstream just a few months ahead of the midterm elections.
“Effective immediately, my administration is recognizing gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations for only 11 core vaccinations against the most serious and dangerous diseases, along with the MMR, which hopefully will be split up,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
With a heavy emphasis on autism, the president also directed the HHS to improve vaccine safety research.
Trump suggested multiple times that rising rates of childhood shots have led to an increase in autism diagnoses.
“Decades ago, children received only a small fraction of the vaccines required today. In those times, people were much healthy, and of course, the high rates of autism now observed did not exist” Trump said. “So there’s a reason for such epidemic rates of autism, and we’re going to bring it back to where it was.
Medical experts have decried the idea and said splitting up the MMR vaccine could leave children vulnerable to infectious diseases for longer. Separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children are not currently available in the U.S.”
“The MMR shot is recommended for children at 12 to 15 months and 4 to 6 years. The combined version has been available since 1971, in part to reduce the number of injections that children receive.” (1)
“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.” (2)
“Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, said on Sunday that “I trust the science” on vaccines, as measles cases have risen to their highest levels in 35 years, sparking concern among some parents about their children returning to school this fall.
“I think that parents, for most kids, especially for the measles vaccines, the DTP, all the standard childhood vaccines, it’s very important that parents vaccinate their kids,” Bhattacharya said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
Bhattacharya, who had also been serving as acting CDC director in recent months, said, “I’m giving my recommendation — I’ve vaccinated my kids.”” (3)
“The order is already sparking pushback from the medical and public health communities, which have continued to reiterate decades of studies showing the safety and efficacy of the childhood vaccine schedule and vaccines more broadly.
They commonly note that while the political landscape on vaccines has changed, the science has not.
“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,” said Dr. Jan K. Carney, president of the American College of Physicians.
The American Academy of Pediatrics predicts it would take a decade to create a separate vaccine for each part of the MMR vaccine.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is a physician, called the order “wrong.”
“I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes. Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism,” Cassidy posted on X.”” (4)
Suspected measles exposure at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, https://fox8.com/news/suspected-measles-exposure-at-university-hospitals-rainbow-babies-childrens-hospital/
1.Trump order calls for fewer childhood vaccines, by Nathaniel Weixel, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6021147-trump-executive-order-mmr-vaccine/
2.Trump signs executive order to split up MMR vaccine, by Caitlin Owens, https://www.axios.com/2026/08/10/trump-order-split-up-mmr-vaccine
3.NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya says “I trust the science” on childhood vaccines amid measles outbreak, By Kaia Hubbard, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jay-bhattacharya-vaccines-rfk-jr/
4.Doctors push back on Trump executive order to change childhood vaccine schedule, By Michelle Stoddart and Emily Chang, https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-executive-order-childhood-vaccine-schedule/story?id=135524851
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai