DELIVERING GOLD STANDARD CHILDHOOD VACCINE RECOMMENDATIONS: Today, President Donald J. Trump has enacted an Executive Order to introduce Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations. This initiative aims to enhance parental control over children’s vaccinations by aligning three categories of childhood immunizations with scientific evidence and best practices from developed peer countries.
- The Executive Order seeks to provide parents with more information and choices regarding their children’s immunization decisions.
- It advocates for immunizations covering 11 diseases, a reduction from the 18 diseases previously recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2024. Vaccines no longer universally recommended are now suggested for shared clinical decision-making, ensuring parents are informed of all available options.
- Additionally, the Order suggests separating the combined MMR vaccine into three individual shots and recommends administering all vaccines during separate medical visits, allowing parents greater flexibility in scheduling and frequency.
- States with school vaccine mandates are encouraged to consider these Gold Standard Recommendations and potentially revise their laws accordingly.
- All Federal agencies are urged to promote the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations within their respective authorities to ensure Americans have access to the best scientific information available.
- The Order emphasizes maximizing parental choice by ensuring compliance with constitutional and Federal laws related to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under the law. This includes the obligation of states to offer religious and medical exemptions from childhood and adolescent vaccination requirements.
- Furthermore, the Order instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the HHS Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, to develop plans to enhance vaccine research and options for American parents, focusing on continuous evaluation of the risk and benefit profiles of all childhood vaccines using U.S. and international data.
ENSURING AMERICANS ARE RECEIVING THE BEST MEDICAL ADVICE IN THE WORLD: According to a January 2026 scientific assessment by HHS, U.S. childhood immunization recommendations were compared with those of peer nations. The assessment evaluated vaccine uptake, public trust, clinical and epidemiological evidence, knowledge gaps, and vaccine mandates.
- The scientific assessment revealed that the United States recommends more childhood vaccines than any other peer nation, with more than double the number of vaccine doses compared to some European countries. It identified a set of consensus vaccines consistently recommended across all peer nations.
- In 1980, children in America following the CDC immunization schedule received 23 vaccine doses in 7 shots for 7 different diseases. By 2024, this increased to at least 84 vaccine doses in 57 shots for 17 diseases, plus the RSV monoclonal antibody immunization, summing up to 18 diseases, exceeding recommendations in other developed countries.
- The assessment recommends prioritizing 11 routine childhood vaccines while maintaining flexibility for parents and healthcare providers to make individualized decisions for high-risk children through shared clinical decision-making.
- The assessment also found that most peer nations maintain high childhood vaccination rates through public trust and education, rather than mandates.
- The U.S. is among a minority of peer nations where individual states enact childhood vaccine mandates for school entry.
- By signing the Executive Order, President Trump reiterates his commitment to gold standard science, ensuring Americans receive top-tier medical advice and empowering patients and doctors with the flexibility needed.
MAKING OUR CHILDREN HEALTHY AGAIN: President Trump is dedicated to fostering a healthier future for America, starting with the youngest generation.
- In February 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the President’s MAHA Commission, tasked with investigating and addressing the root causes of America’s growing health crisis, initially focusing on childhood chronic diseases.
- The Trump Administration revised its stance on the COVID-19 vaccine, moving from a blanket recommendation for all children to a model based on shared clinical decision-making between patients and clinicians.
- In May 2025, the MAHA Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, which summarized current knowledge and remaining questions about the childhood chronic disease crisis.
- By September 2025, the MAHA Commission unveiled the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a comprehensive plan featuring over 120 initiatives aimed at reversing policies that contributed to the childhood chronic disease epidemic. This strategy prioritized creating a vaccine framework to ensure America has the optimal childhood vaccine schedule.
- In December 2025, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum initiating the alignment of U.S. core childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer, developed countries.
- Under Trump’s directive, HHS conducted the aforementioned scientific assessment on childhood vaccination recommendations.
- In May, President Trump signed an Executive Order realigning the United States’ core childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer, developed countries.
