WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday reducing the number of vaccines on the recommended childhood immunization schedule from 18 to 11, reinstating a policy that a federal court blocked earlier this year.
The order also proposes separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three shots given at different times, and gives parents greater discretion over timing, according to Democracy Now. It further directs the Justice Department to challenge state vaccine laws that the administration says improperly deny religious or medical exemptions.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who stood beside the president at the signing, said the change brings the United States into line with many European countries. He argued that other nations achieve high vaccination rates through education, informed consent and public trust rather than mandates.
Kennedy attempted a similar reduction in January, eliminating vaccines covering six of 17 diseases, but a federal court blocked it. That case remains pending, and the new order reinstates the overhaul while the litigation continues.
The reaction from within the president's own party was immediate. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a physician, said the order is wrong and that the president lacks the expertise to make the changes, WORLD reported.
The American Academy of Pediatrics said no new evidence supports the revision. Public health researchers warn the change could deepen parental hesitancy.