(Headline USA) President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.
The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots administered in separate appointments, and directs the nation’s health department to improve vaccine research, according to a White House fact sheet on the order. Separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children are not currently available in the United States, and vaccines are already extensively researched.
Speaking about the order at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump repeatedly suggested the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in rising rates of autism spectrum disorder. He also touted several changes to the childhood vaccine schedule that his health department has already attempted, but that have been blocked by a federal judge.
The renewed focus on vaccines marks a departure from his administration’s recent efforts to emphasize less controversial health policies related to healthy eating, drug price negotiations and medical fraud crackdowns ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Even as the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations, states, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. The order advises states with school vaccine mandates to consider updating their laws to reflect the administration’s preferred schedule, the fact sheet said.
Last December, Trump ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly. The department responded by cutting the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, a move that has since been blocked in court.
Changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations customarily require approval from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The newly Senate-confirmed CDC director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, oversaw policies promoting vaccination of service members while in a leadership position at the U.S. Coast Guard.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist before he entered politics, set out to overhaul immunization guidance at DHS in the first year of Trump’s term. He fired an entire 17-member vaccine advisory committee, installing replacements who made far more restrictive recommendations that have since been halted by a federal judge.
In the months leading up to Monday’s announcement, Trump’s administration had largely pivoted away from talking about vaccine policy in favor of less polarizing topics like healthy eating and efforts to lower drug prices ahead of November’s elections.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.
