Trump returns to controversial vaccine policy with order questioning childhood schedule

After months of avoiding public vaccine discussions due to political concerns, the Trump administration changed course with a new executive order unveiled Monday from the Oval Office. President Trump and top health officials presented a skeptical federal approach to vaccines, making extraordinary claims without evidence. The order establishes a new “Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations” process, replacing the usual scientist-led public process with decisions made in consultation with the president's advisers, and comparing the U.S. system to other countries. The White House did not explain why this approach was taken or who advised the president.

The order recommends 11 vaccines for all children, down from the 18 previously recommended, and would spread out doses over a longer time period. The administration provided no immunological evidence for the changed schedule. Heidi Overton, a White House health policy adviser, said the order was a response to a court stalling previous changes to vaccine policy. A White House official later argued that the new policy complies with court orders and would prevail because the president has the right to recommend “what he understands the best view of the science.”

The order also calls for splitting the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine into three separate vaccines, a change experts say would require years of work and investment and is not supported by evidence. President Trump claimed without evidence that the combined MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal,” despite large-scale studies proving its safety; he later backtracked, saying there isn't evidence of lethality but that he heard the claim from others. Overton clarified that the administration still recommends the shot for all children. When asked about the MMR split, a White House official pointed to a review from two Kennedy-chosen advisers—but that review actually recommends the shot and doesn't discuss splitting it. Trump connected the order to efforts to address rising autism rates, though he said he does not know the cause. Parents can still choose to vaccinate their children, but the order signals a significant shift in federal vaccine policy and could face legal challenges.