WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 10: President Donald Trump, accompanied by (L-R) National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, Jayme Leagh Franklin with the The Conservateur, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Dr. Heidi Overton, takes a question from reporters after Trump signed an executive order calling for childhood vaccine shots to be spaced out into separate visits during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Aug. 10, 2026. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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President Trump has issued a new executive order in the Oval Office, advocating for a revision of the current childhood vaccine schedule. During the announcement, Trump reiterated debunked theories linking vaccines to autism and made misleading statements about the contents of vaccines and the number of vaccinations children in the U.S. are subjected to. He also stirred controversy by suggesting that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine be divided into separate shots.
STAT News reported that both the President and Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy made “extraordinary claims without evidence to support the remade federal agenda.”
Dr. Schwartz, the newly confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was notably absent. Typically, the CDC director would play a leading role in announcing vaccine policy changes, as the agency oversees these matters.
A New York Times fact-check highlighted several inaccuracies in Trump’s statements, such as exaggerated descriptions of vaccine liquid volumes, likening them to “the size of a bottle of soda,” and mentioning “gallons” and “vats,” whereas the actual amounts are much smaller, closer to a fraction of a teaspoon.
Trump and Kennedy also claimed that American children receive 72 shots, though the number is actually less than half by age five, even when considering recommended but not mandatory vaccinations like the annual flu shot.
Press Secretary Leavitt posted an image comparing a European baby, reportedly receiving “11 injections,” to a U.S. infant receiving “72 injections,” which was misleading.
Trump further suggested that separating combination vaccines would allow the body to manage the supposed “massive amount of fluid.” He inaccurately claimed that this approach would significantly reduce autism rates, wrongly suggesting a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.
There is no clinical basis for dividing MMR vaccines into separate shots, and individual vaccines for these diseases are not available in the U.S.
Misleading Comparisons
Comparing U.S. vaccine policies with other wealthy nations without proper context is problematic, yet this is what Trump and his team at HHS pursued after a presidential memorandum in January aimed to review the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule against “best practices” from peer countries. This led to the recent executive order claiming that the U.S. recommends more childhood vaccines than any other nation, including more than twice as many doses as some European countries.
The document lacks evidence to support the “twice as many” assertion.
Differences in vaccine schedules between the U.S. and its peers are generally minor, except for the inclusion of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines in U.S. guidelines, which are typically only recommended in Europe for high-risk individuals.
Despite the President’s remarks against universally recommending the hepatitis B vaccine, most European countries do include it in their schedules.
The administration favors the Danish schedule, which is narrower, but this overlooks significant differences in healthcare systems. The U.S. recently shifted its hepatitis B vaccine guidance to align with Denmark’s approach, focusing on high-risk infants, due to inefficiencies in the American healthcare system’s ability to identify those at risk.
Most European vaccine schedules resemble the traditional U.S. schedule more closely than Denmark’s. For example, the Netherlands targets 15 diseases, three fewer than the U.S., excluding varicella, influenza, and COVID-19, which are still offered to those with health vulnerabilities.
Parental Choice Versus Vaccine Mandates
The Trump administration advocates for “parental choice” in vaccination decisions, moving away from mandates. The executive order reflects this stance but overlooks the existing framework of informed consent and religious and medical exemptions in U.S. vaccine policy.
The order states that peer nations achieve high vaccination rates through public trust and education rather than mandates, unlike the U.S., where states set vaccine requirements for school attendance.
While states do establish mandatory vaccines for school attendance, U.S. education and trust policies are similar to those in peer countries. The CDC, guided by scientific committees, disseminates recommendations to state and local authorities, who then educate the public. European public health agencies follow a similar model but with less local authority flexibility.
In some European countries, like the Netherlands, voluntary cooperation is favored over mandates, yet their systems aim for compliance with public health standards.
Drawing from personal experience in the Netherlands, residents receive notices from health authorities for scheduled vaccinations, complete with details and suggested appointments. These reminders ensure compliance, showing that while the approach differs from the U.S., the result is similar in terms of the number of vaccines administered.
