US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday calling for revisions to how children in the US are vaccinated. The order includes a recommendation for fewer vaccinations overall and suggests replacing the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine with separate shots for each disease, administered during separate medical visits.
However, implementing the recommendation for separate MMR shots is currently impossible as no stand-alone vaccines for these diseases are licensed in the US. Dr David Diemert, a professor of medicine and director of the George Washington University Vaccine Research Unit, stated that the executive order's biggest impact is likely to cause confusion.
The executive order does not alter current federal vaccine recommendations, which are established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not the president. Dr James Campbell, chair of the committee on infectious diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), confirmed that the order does not change anything about current recommendations.
Despite the Trump administration's attempts to change vaccine policy, many states have opted not to follow CDC childhood vaccine recommendations. As of January 2026, at least 28 states and the District of Columbia announced they would follow guidance from other entities, with most indicating they would follow AAP guidance.