Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order advocating a split approach to childhood vaccinations, diverging from CDC recommendations and amid growing measles concerns in the US.
Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that would push federal childhood vaccine advice towards the president’s long-standing view that routine shots should be spread across separate medical appointments, according to a White House fact sheet first reported by The Daily Caller. The proposed order would tell the health department to back more vaccine research and would recommend giving each vaccine on its own visit, including splitting the measles, mumps and rubella jab into three separate injections, although such single vaccines are not available in the US.
The move would deepen a sharp break with the current approach used by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends two doses of the combined MMR vaccine, the first at 12 to 15 months and the second at 4 to 6 years. Public health experts have warned that stretching out childhood immunisations can leave children exposed for longer periods and raise the chance of infection before the next appointment. They also continue to reject Trump’s repeated suggestion that vaccine timing or quantity is linked to autism, a claim that has been rejected by decades of research.
The new order would follow a broader overhaul already set in motion earlier this year. In May 2026, the White House said Trump had signed an executive order directing the CDC to review an assessment from the Department of Health and Human Services arguing that the US recommends more childhood vaccines than peer countries, including more than twice as many doses as some European nations. That order said the administration wanted US practice to better align with scientific evidence and approaches used in other developed countries.
The latest step comes as schools reopen and the US is contending with a measles outbreak that experts say could threaten the country’s elimination status. It also follows a January 2026 shake-up of the federal paediatric schedule that reduced the number of routinely recommended vaccines, while the American Academy of Pediatrics responded with its own more expansive timetable covering 18 diseases. The White House has framed the changes as evidence-based reform, but medical groups say the shifting policy risks undermining a schedule built around protection, timing and public confidence.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
