What to know about President Trump’s executive order on childhood vaccines – TribLIVE.com

An executive order signed this week by President Donald Trump rearranges federal childhood vaccine recommendations, dropping the number of advised shots and attempting to decouple some combination vaccines.
Flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at an Oval Office press conference, Trump and other officials repeatedly linked vaccines to autism, a widely debunked claim.
The move is an effort to align the United States with “other advanced and developed nations,” the president said.
But medical experts condemned the order, which they expect to have little effect on Pennsylvania policies.
Here’s what to know about the White House’s new guidelines:
The recommendations shake up vaccine advice
President Trump’s order recommends children receive 11 vaccines, down from the 18 shots previously recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2024.
The immunizations recommended for all children under the order are for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus and varicella or chickenpox.
It also advises that the current combination vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) be split into three different shots to be received during separate doctor’s visits.
No individual-disease shots for those illnesses are currently approved in the United States, however. And if drug companies sought to develop them, it would likely take years of testing and millions of dollars before they could seek approval for the new shots.
The order comes after a similar CDC shift in January that made many of the same recommendations.
The CDC guidelines and Trump’s order strip shots for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, rotavirus, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus of their universal recommendation — now only advising they be given to “certain high-risk groups.”
But Trump’s order is merely an advisory — not a mandate — since vaccinations required for school attendance are set at the state level, rather than by the federal government.
Medical experts pan the idea
Like many of the vaccine-related directives issued by Trump and Kennedy, the order was met with condemnation by most medical professionals.
“Nothing is going to happen,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and a physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It’s just their usual anti-vaccine rants.”
That may be true in terms of regulatory shifts, but Dr. Bruce Gellin of Georgetown University Medical Center said the order will likely have the effect of creating confusion among the public, which could cause vaccine hesitancy during the back-to-school vaccination period in August.
In turn, doctors may have to spend more time explaining the effectiveness of the vaccines — and why they’re at odds with the federal government — said Gellin, an infectious disease specialist and adjunct professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and travel medicine.
Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics — the largest professional association of pediatricians in the country — called the order “disheartening and dangerous.” He issued a statement disputing the notion that vaccines are associated with autism. Studies and the scientific establishment have concluded there is no link.
“The only purpose of this announcement is to sow confusion so that more people doubt the importance of vaccines,” Racine’s statement said. “Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school.”
Little likely to change in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania — where the state’s Department of Health follows vaccine recommendations from the pediatrics academy — no policy changes will result from the order.
The Department of Health said in a statement to TribLive that its policies were guided by “medical science.”
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen both lambasted Trump and Kennedy soon after the president signed the order Monday.
“Vaccines are the best tools we have to protect our communities from preventable diseases,” the health department statement said. “The Shapiro Administration will continue to follow the facts and evidence-based medicine to keep our children and communities safe.”
Shapiro, who sued Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services along with 14 states over the January CDC recommendations, said on X he would “continue to give Pennsylvanians clear public health guidance based on science and facts.”
The order comes as a measles outbreak affects the state with 258 cases confirmed so far this year — including 66 cases confirmed in the last week, according to state data.
The outbreak is mostly centered in and around Lancaster County. As of Wednesday, there were no confirmed cases in Allegheny County or any adjacent counties, though three cases have been confirmed in Indiana County.
Allegheny County health official still urges vaccination
In response to the order, Dr. Jillian Irwin, medical director and deputy director for clinical services at the Allegheny County Health Department, urged parents not to delay their children’s vaccines.
“For families, the bottom line is unchanged: talk with your child’s health care provider and follow the recommended childhood immunization schedule,” she said in a statement. “If your child is behind on vaccinations, it is not too late to catch up.”
Irwin’s statement pointed out that a separate MMR vaccines do not yet exist, meaning parents would likely be waiting years if companies do actually decide to develop and seek approval for new vaccines.
“Families should not wait for a hypothetical future vaccine option when the MMR vaccine is available and has a long history of protecting children,” the statement said.
James Engel is a TribLive staff writer. He can be reached at jengel@triblive.com
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