The current U.S. administration is pushing for American children to receive fewer vaccinations, a move described in a recent executive order as being consistent with “gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations.” Yet medical professionals have roundly condemned the order, saying it offers no evidence to justify an overhaul of longstanding health policies.
The administration's directive, signed on Aug. 10, 2026, calls for reducing the number of routine childhood vaccinations from 18 to 11, arguing that the U.S. is out of step with peer countries in Europe. It also calls for splitting the MMR vaccine — which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella — into three single-disease shots. Experts say there is no scientific basis for these revisions to the immunization schedule.
“None of the changes […] are supported by any new data, or any new concerns about safety or the vaccines not working,” Flor Muñoz, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, told Discover. “It’s incredible to see that something like this is even being considered.”
Read More: Measles, Polio, and Other Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Are Re-emerging — Here's What To Know
Causing Confusion Around Vaccines
The order itself does not mention autism. Nevertheless, the president's comments during the signing suggest that its rationale rests on the debunked notion that higher vaccine rates are responsible for a rise in autism’s prevalence, according to a study in the BMJ. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), decried the president’s unfounded claims in a statement.
Explore All Options“Dozens of studies involving millions of people show there is no link between vaccines and autism, and yet federal leaders continue to promote this outdated, disproven idea to scare families,” Racine wrote. “The only purpose of this announcement is to sow confusion so that more people doubt the importance of vaccines.”
Indeed, experts fear that the administration’s vaccine-skeptical stance could influence parents to skip vaccinations for their children as flu season approaches. The country is also experiencing a surge in measles cases. According to the CDC, there are 3,294 confirmed cases as of Sept. 10, 2026, the most measles cases since 1991. This may be driven by a decline in kindergarten vaccination rates and an increase in medical and religious exemptions, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
Who To Talk to About Vaccines
In addition to the AAP, some 210 medical organizations and patient advocacy groups jointly opposed the executive order, writing that “families deserve clear guidance from federal health officials that is grounded in science and aimed at protecting children’s health.”
They urge parents to seek vaccine advice — and medical advice in general — from their child’s pediatrician.
The new order echoes earlier efforts by the administration to remake the immunization schedule. In January 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), following guidance from the president and the Department of Health and Human Services, announced that it would drop the number of recommended childhood vaccinations from 18 to 11.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the CDC order in March 2026, according to the AP. But it has been resurrected in the president's new executive order, which ends recommendations that all children be immunized against COVID-19, seasonal flu, rotavirus, and several other diseases.
Splitting the MMR Vaccine
These vaccines are still available, but instead of being automatically recommended for every child, they will be administered through “shared clinical decision-making” between doctors and parents — a process Muñoz describes as “nebulous” and likely to further reduce vaccination rates.
“We know they work, we know they’re safe,” she said of the seven vaccines formerly recommended for all children. “And we know that these diseases are still a problem.”
The proposal to split up the MMR vaccine particularly baffles doctors. Originally developed as three separate injections throughout the 1960s, the mumps, measles, and rubella shots were merged in 1971 after extensive safety testing, the idea being that a combination vaccine would minimize pain and clinic visits while protecting children faster.
Merck, the pharmaceutical company that developed the MMR vaccine, stopped manufacturing vaccines for the individual diseases in 2008. Reverting to single-disease shots would be logistically difficult, according to Muñoz, not to mention a step backward.
“Nobody does that,” she told Discover. “It's going against progress, it's going against scientific evidence, it's going against public health.”
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from the White House: Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations For Americans
- This article references information from a study published in the BMJ: Trump signs order on childhood vaccines while making unproved links between jabs and autism
- This article references information from the American Academy of Pediatrics: AAP Statement in Response to Executive Order on Vaccines
- This article references information from the KFF: Kindergarten Routine Vaccination Rates Continue to Decline
- This article references information from the CDC: CDC Acts on Presidential Memorandum to Update Childhood Immunization Schedule
- This article references information from the AP: Judge blocks US government from slimming down vaccine recommendations
- This article references information from Merck: Monovalent vaccines no longer available for measles, mumps, rubella
