The World Health Organization has condemned President Donald Trump’s recent modifications to childhood vaccination guidance in the US, warning that the measures could weaken immunisation efforts against preventable diseases amid concerns over scientific integrity and child health protection.
The World Health Organization has criticised President Donald Trump’s latest changes to childhood vaccination guidance in the United States, warning that the measures are not in line with decades of scientific evidence and could leave children less protected against preventable disease. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organisation was concerned that the new approach clashes with long-established research on when children are most vulnerable and how vaccines are safely scheduled.
In a post on X, Ghebreyesus said vaccinations are one of the most powerful tools parents have to protect children from severe illness and death. He argued that delaying doses or spacing them out without medical need does not make immunisation safer and can create gaps in protection. He also said global evidence continues to support the safety of vaccines, including the measles, mumps and rubella jab, and that they do not cause autism.
Trump signed an executive order this week to scale back the number of diseases for which childhood vaccines are formally recommended and to encourage greater use of separate appointments for some shots. Axios reported that the order would split the MMR vaccine into three individual injections, a move public health experts have rejected as unsupported by science and potentially more costly and cumbersome for families. The report said critics warned the policy could slow uptake at a time when measles cases in 2026 have already surpassed last year’s total.
The move follows an earlier White House push to rework childhood vaccination policy. In May, Trump ordered health officials to review U.S. vaccine schedules against what the administration described as best practice in other developed countries, and the CDC later said it had accepted recommendations from a broader scientific assessment. WHO, however, said vaccine policy should be shaped by independent, transparent scientific review rather than political pressure.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
