U.S. President Donald Trump has taken steps toward making major changes to the country’s routine childhood vaccination system. He signed an executive order supporting a system in which children would receive multiple vaccines during separate medical visits rather than receiving them at the same time or as combination vaccines.
The new directive specifically encourages considering whether the widely used measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine should be divided into three separate vaccines. However, separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are not currently available for routine use in the United States.
The development could be significant for many Bangladeshi families in the United States, including those in New York, whose school-age children follow routine vaccination requirements. If federal recommendations or state policies change in the future, the changes could affect children’s vaccination schedules, school enrollment health requirements and doctors’ recommendations.
However, the executive order does **not** mean that currently recommended vaccines have been stopped. Parents should not change their children’s vaccination schedules on their own.
Public health experts advise parents to consult a pediatrician or family doctor before making any changes to a child’s vaccination schedule.
According to the White House, the administration’s goal is to give parents more “flexibility” regarding childhood vaccinations and to encourage further research into the effectiveness and potential effects of vaccines.
The executive order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to increase research on vaccines. It also calls for consideration of using separate vaccines, where possible, instead of combination vaccines that protect against multiple diseases.
The move has already raised concerns among public health experts. They fear that if children have to visit doctors repeatedly to receive vaccines that could otherwise be given during the same appointment, some families may skip later appointments. This could increase the risk that children do not receive all recommended doses on time and could create more opportunities for preventable diseases such as measles to spread.
The decision comes at a time when U.S. public health officials are already concerned about measles outbreaks. There are also concerns about the country’s long-standing measles-elimination status.
The MMR vaccine is a combination vaccine that protects against three infectious diseases—measles, mumps and rubella—with a single injection. It has been part of the routine childhood vaccination program in the United States for many years.
Trump has long questioned the practice of giving multiple vaccines at the same time. He has also repeatedly called for more research into a possible connection between vaccines and autism. However, large-scale scientific studies have found no reliable evidence that vaccines cause autism.
In the United States, most rules concerning school vaccination requirements and mandatory childhood immunizations are determined by individual states. A presidential executive order cannot directly change vaccination laws in every state.
However, the new order could encourage states to reconsider their vaccination policies and laws. It could also lead to changes in future vaccine recommendations from federal health agencies.
For parents living in New York and other states, the most important step for now is to continue following the current guidance from their state health department, school district and their child’s doctor.
