President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday backing a January report from the Department of Health and Human Services that advocates for reducing childhood vaccine recommendations across the United States.
Trump’s directive instructs federal agencies to coordinate their policies with the report’s findings, which supports changes long advocated by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The research determined that America suggests more childhood immunizations than numerous comparable countries.
Earlier efforts by the Trump administration to reduce recommended childhood vaccines based on this report were halted by a federal judge in Massachusetts. Officials are currently challenging that court ruling.
The report suggests immunizing all children against 11 specific diseases. Additional vaccines would only be suggested for high-risk populations or through what researchers call “shared decision-making” between doctors and families. These conditional recommendations include immunizations for influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, certain types of meningitis and RSV.
Trump’s directive strengthens support for the study during a period when his administration seemed to be shifting attention from Kennedy’s more controversial vaccine positions toward widely accepted topics such as nutritional wellness.
The executive order instructs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine the study and “take any appropriate steps” to modify its vaccination guidance. It states the CDC should “provide maximum flexibility to parents and doctors” and requires agencies to ensure all policies, rules and funding match the study’s recommendations.
The directive also specifies that any modifications must preserve Americans’ existing vaccine access.
Individual states, rather than federal authorities, control vaccination requirements for school attendance. Although CDC guidelines frequently shape state policies, several states have started forming coalitions to resist the Trump administration’s vaccine direction.
Trump ordered HHS to conduct the study in December.
Kennedy has long opposed vaccines and has worked to incorporate his doubts about immunizations into federal recommendations. He previously announced the CDC would stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, a decision questioned by public health professionals who found no new evidence supporting the change.
In June, he dismissed a 17-member CDC vaccine advisory panel and subsequently appointed his own members, including several vaccine critics.
The January analysis determined that vaccine recommendations for American children have grown significantly over recent decades. The report also noted countries where no immunizations are mandated for school enrollment.
