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Doctors say Trump's vaccine order will raise fears, cause confusion and endanger kids

  • By LAURA UNGAR - AP Medical Writer

Doctors worry that President Donald Trump’s new executive order on vaccines will stoke fear and confusion among parents at a time when measles is raging, immunization rates are falling and children are heading back to school. The order advocates separating the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three different single-disease shots and giving all childhood immunizations at separate appointments when possible. It also includes several changes to the childhood vaccine schedule already attempted by Trump’s health department, which have been blocked by a federal judge. Doctors say the recommendations are not based on science and worry they will worsen vaccine hesitancy and endanger kids.

Trump signs executive order calling for spacing out childhood shots
National
AP Top Story Wire

Trump signs executive order calling for spacing out childhood shots

  • By ALI SWENSON - Associated Press
  • Updated

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for spacing out childhood vaccines into separate medical visits and splitting the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three different shots. Trump has long suspected that the number or timing of vaccines could play a role in autism spectrum disorder, even as scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link. Childhood vaccines, and how and when to give them, go through rigorous studies and safety tracking continues for years as the shots are used.

There are already more US measles cases this year than in all of 2025
National
AP Top Story Wire

There are already more US measles cases this year than in all of 2025

  • By DEVI SHASTRI - AP Health Writer
  • Updated

The U.S. has surpassed 2025’s record for measles cases, with five months left in 2026. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it has logged more than 2,300 cases of measles as of Thursday. Major outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah, and Arizona have contributed to the rise. Experts say the actual spread might be greater due to underreporting and declining vaccination rates. For example, experts relying on mathematical modeling and genetic analyses believe a large outbreak on the Utah-Arizona border could be around three to four times bigger than the official count.