Medical groups and pharmaceutical companies are challenging an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump that seeks to change childhood vaccination requirements.
Order splits MMR vaccine, demands new shots
Trump’s order, issued Monday, requires the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be separated into three individual shots. The current MMR vaccine is given in two doses, so the change would mean six shots for children instead of two.
Standalone vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella do not exist in the U.S. For the order to be realized, pharmaceutical companies would need to make hefty investments in developing, testing, and bringing to market entirely new vaccines—and they would have to do all of that based on no scientific reasoning whatsoever. The current MMR combination vaccine has proven extremely safe, effective, and convenient based on data from decades of use.
Within hours of Trump signing the order, PhRMA—the leading pharmaceutical industry group representing big players, such as GSK, Sanofi, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Novo Nordisk—put out a statement saying the order debases America’s vaccine policy.
Medical groups call order “dangerous”
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) quickly condemned the order, calling it “dangerous.” The group is already leading a lawsuit against previous changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations under Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In March, the AAP and other medical groups won a temporary injunction reversing most of those changes.
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Various public health and medical organizations and independent experts have called the order “dangerous,” “unscientific,” “false and misleading,” and “so wrong,” saying it is “putting children’s health at risk.” The responses reflect long-standing opposition to anti-vaccine and anti-science agendas pushed by Trump and Kennedy, who has no background in science, medicine, or public health.
The order does not immediately alter vaccination requirements. Any implementation would need regulatory steps, which could face legal hurdles.
Combination vaccines like MMR have been standard for decades. They reduce the number of injections while maintaining protection.
The directive remains a policy statement without a clear enforcement path. Opposition from medical professionals and drugmakers suggests any attempt to put it into practice will face strong resistance.
A personalized approach to health policies may offer alternatives, but this order focuses on structural changes rather than individual needs.