President Donald Trump announced plans to have vaccine makers divide childhood immunisations into five separate injections, asserting this could reduce autism risk, despite scientific consensus disproving such a link.
President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration plans to press vaccine makers to divide some childhood immunisations into five separate injections, claiming the change could sharply reduce autism. Scientists have repeatedly rejected any link between vaccines and autism, and Trump offered no evidence for his assertion. He also did not say which shots would be affected.
Speaking at an event in the Oval Office, Trump said, “We’re going to recommend that they do five doses … and that they be given in six-month intervals so that a small amount of the vaccine gets pumped into the body.” The remarks echo his long-running criticism of childhood vaccination schedules and the views of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has promoted arguments about vaccines and autism that have been repeatedly discredited.
Trump has already signed an executive order aimed at reducing childhood vaccinations by capping the schedule at 11 immunisations, which he said would provide “gold-standard” protection and bring the United States closer to countries that recommend fewer shots. That order also called for separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, even though none of those individual shots is licensed in the United States and experts say it could be years before any become available, if they ever are.
The latest push comes as fact-checkers and medical specialists continue to reject claims that the combined MMR vaccine causes autism. FactCheck.org has said the vaccine has been studied for decades, with more than 800 million doses administered worldwide and no credible evidence of such a link. The Associated Press has likewise reported that experts point to decades of global research showing vaccines are safe and effective.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
