WASHINGTON — The American Academy of Pediatrics on Tuesday called President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on childhood vaccines “dangerous,” saying it lacks new scientific evidence and could create confusion among parents as measles cases in the United States reach their highest level in decades.
AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine said the order, signed by Trump on Monday, was not supported by evidence warranting major changes to childhood immunization guidance. He urged parents to continue discussing vaccinations with pediatricians and other clinicians.
“As measles cases reach a 35-year high in the U.S. and with cold and flu season quickly approaching, today’s executive order on vaccines is not only disheartening but dangerous,” Racine said in an AAP statement.
Trump’s order directs federal health officials to revise childhood vaccine recommendations, reducing the number of vaccines recommended universally from 17 to 11, according to the administration. It also calls for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be administered as three separate shots rather than as a combined vaccine.
The order builds on the administration’s broader effort to align U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations with practices in other developed countries. A May executive order directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to review U.S. recommendations against those of peer nations.
The AAP maintains a separate 2026 immunization schedule recommending protection against 18 serious diseases. The academy says its recommendations are based on evidence reviews, vaccine safety data, disease epidemiology and the potential impact of vaccination on preventing illness and complications.
Racine also rejected renewed suggestions of a connection between vaccines and autism, saying dozens of studies involving millions of children have found no such link. The administration has promoted additional research into autism and vaccines as part of its broader health agenda.
Federal health officials have defended the changes as an effort to align U.S. policy with international practices and give families and physicians greater flexibility. The White House has described the policy as an attempt to base recommendations on what it calls “gold-standard” science.
The CDC’s current public guidance continues to identify MMR as the principal measles vaccine and recommends two doses for children, with two doses about 97% effective at preventing measles.
The dispute leaves pediatricians and federal health officials offering competing recommendations while states determine how, or whether, to adjust their own vaccination policies.
