Trump has banned combination vaccines: children will now be vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella at different times.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 10 revising childhood vaccination recommendations and promoting his long-standing, but scientifically debunked, idea that children should receive their shots separately, at separate doctor visits, according to Associated Press.

The document proposes splitting the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three single doses—one for each disease—and, if possible, administering all childhood vaccinations at separate appointments rather than simultaneously. Furthermore, the decree instructs the National Department of Health to strengthen vaccine research, which has long been under extensive study, and to submit a plan to offer children separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, as this option is currently not available in the United States.

Putting vaccines back at the center of the agenda marks a departure from the Trump administration's recent focus on less controversial health issues like healthy eating, drug price negotiations, and fighting medical fraud in the lead-up to the November midterm elections.

On the subject: Measles cases in the US are breaking records, driven by declining vaccination rates.

Public health experts warn that spacing out vaccinations, as Trump suggests, increases the risk of a child contracting a vaccine-protected disease before their next doctor's appointment. Childhood vaccines, including their administration schedules and combinations, undergo rigorous testing, and their safety is monitored for years after they are first administered.

Trump himself called the move "a major victory for parental rights, religious rights, constitutional rights, and the gold standard of science."

Speaking in the Oval Office, he repeatedly suggested that the number of vaccinations or their schedule could be linked to the rise in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses, although decades of research clearly demonstrates no such link. Furthermore, the order includes several changes to the childhood immunization schedule that the Department of Health and Human Services had already attempted to implement but were blocked by a federal judge. A White House official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the president has the right to make his own recommendations through an executive order and emphasized that the lawsuit against the department's schedule is a separate matter.

Dr. Andrew Raisin, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, stated that the announced measures only create unnecessary uncertainty, fear, and confusion. He disagreed with Trump's proposals and emphasized that current recommendations should remain in place.

"The science of vaccines and their effectiveness hasn't changed," he said. "The spread of viruses and other pathogens in the environment hasn't changed. Children in this country haven't changed in the last 48 hours."

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, sharply criticized the order on social media, emphasizing that vaccines are safe and do not cause autism.

"I am a physician. This order is wrong," the Louisiana senator wrote. "The president does not have the expertise to make such decisions."

Who determines vaccination policy?

Despite calls to revise the recommendations, the authority to require mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren rests with states, not the federal government. The White House document states that states with mandatory vaccinations in schools should consider amending their laws to align with the administration's proposed schedule.

Last December, Trump ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to study how vaccination recommendations are formulated in other countries and consider adjusting the U.S. guidelines. In response, the department reduced the number of vaccinations recommended for every child, but this decision was challenged and blocked in court.

Changes to federal childhood vaccination guidelines typically require approval from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency's new director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, recently confirmed by the Senate, previously oversaw military vaccination policy while serving in a senior position at the U.S. Coast Guard.

At the same time, Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University, noted that the Supreme Court's interpretation of the president's powers could allow Trump to override Schwartz's position if she disagrees with the new recommendations.

"This is certainly the first serious test for Dr. Erica Schwartz," Gostin wrote. "The President is putting her in a precarious position."

When asked by reporters why the president insisted on splitting the MMR vaccine into three separate vaccines, a White House spokesperson did not cite any research to support this decision. He merely noted that this has been Trump's long-standing position and that some countries use separate measles vaccines under certain circumstances.

Trump spokesman Kush Desai said the president is "one of many parents who have questions and concerns about the combination MMR vaccine," and emphasized that the development of separate vaccines will give parents more options for scheduling and frequency of vaccinations, which should ultimately increase vaccination rates.

According to the study, using combination vaccines increases the likelihood that a child will receive all recommended vaccinations by age two.

The announcement follows other steps by the Trump administration on vaccinations.

Surgeon General Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known anti-vaccine activist before entering politics, launched a major overhaul of the immunization guidelines system in the first year of Trump's second term. He disbanded the entire 17-member Vaccine Advisory Committee and appointed a new one, which proposed significantly more stringent restrictions. These decisions were subsequently overturned by a federal court. He also personally ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism, without presenting new evidence.

Throughout his second term, Trump has repeatedly attempted to link autism to vaccinations. Recently, he has increased pressure on Kennedy to establish the causes of autism—a task he promised to address with new research he announced last year. Last month, at a cabinet meeting, Trump publicly asked Kennedy about the progress of this research.

The scientific community and decades of research unequivocally confirm that there is no link between childhood vaccinations and autism. On August 10, Raisin reiterated this, noting that the possible link has been examined in more than 40 methodologically sound studies in at least seven countries, involving over 5 million children.

"I'm not sure there's a question that's been studied in such detail," he noted. "And the answer is clearly no."

In the Oval Office, Kennedy reiterated his belief that the rise in autism diagnoses is linked to some as-yet-unidentified environmental factor, and promised that his department would release research results "as soon as they are ready."

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The order was signed as schoolchildren across the country return to class and the United States faces a measles outbreak. Experts estimate that this situation could lead to the country losing its status as a territory free of this highly contagious, acute, airborne viral disease.

Doctors warn that Trump's misinformation about vaccines could fuel doubts about their necessity. Federal data shows that vaccination rates among American kindergartners are declining, and the proportion of children with medical and non-medical exemptions has reached a record high in the 2024–2025 school year.

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