Trump moves to undo U.S. childhood vaccination schedule, citing unproven autism risk

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The Health secretary must follow a legal process, including seeking advice from the panel, before overturning existing vaccine recommendations, said Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of the Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.

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“The President’s Executive Order is unscientific, dangerous, and unlawful,” Gostin said. “It will result in children skipping life saving vaccines and spreading preventable diseases.”

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The order amounts to one of Trump’s most sweeping efforts yet to pare down vaccines recommended for children. The president turned his attention to the issue as he struggles to bring an end to the war in Iran and grapples with a shaky economy, all of which have put his fellow Republicans in danger of losing control of Congress in the November midterm elections.

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It also puts a spotlight on a topic officials had previously sought to downplay ahead of the midterms.

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An internal memo earlier this year advised health officials to focus on less divisive subjects like food guidelines and healthcare costs, as polling showed broad support for routine childhood vaccines in competitive election districts. A White House official said on Monday that the order was based on science and the president’s desire to communicate that to Americans.

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The move drew the ire of Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a medical doctor and frequent antagonist of Trump and Kennedy on public health policy, who called the executive order “wrong.”

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“Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots. It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe,” Cassidy said in a post on the social media platform X.

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Despite the scientific consensus, some anti-vaccine activists believe that the MMR shot causes autism in kids, and by separating the shots, researchers would know which vaccine purportedly leads to development of the neurological disorder.

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Under the order, the measles vaccine and inoculations for diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, chicken pox and HPV would still be recommended for all children. Shots for RSV, hepatitis A and B and meningitis would be reserved for high risk groups, while protections against flu and COVID would be determined by shared decision making between doctors and parents.

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Federal and state officials are directed to implement the order, including adjustments about which shots would be required for school attendance. It directs the U.S. attorney general to take legal action against states that “violate” religious and medical exemptions, Trump said at the press conference.

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The executive order directs an HHS task force to to present Trump with plans on separating the MMR vaccine within three months. The group also is being asked to develop alternatives to the aluminum that’s added to vaccines to boost the immune system response to them.

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Trump previously expressed concerns about aluminum adjuvants in childhood vaccines during a press conference in September, where health officials suggested that using the over-the-counter painkiller Tylenol during pregnancy was linked to autism. Kennedy has a history of blaming aluminum in vaccines for various ailments.

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The CDC website said that aluminum salts, used to strengthen the body’s immune system, “have been used safely in vaccines for decades,” though they can lead to more redness and pain at the injection site and more side effects like fever and chills. The CDC also cited an observational study from 2022 that showed a possible relationship between aluminum exposure and asthma, and said further investigation is needed.

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A larger 2023 study conducted by Denmark’s public health agency found no association between aluminum adjuvants and asthma. Kennedy demanded that the Annals of Internal Medicine medical journal retract the Danish study, but the editors of the journal refused.