The order calls for childhood vaccines to be given at separate appointments wherever possible, mandates the number of childhood vaccines drop to 11 from 18, and directs officials to develop separate jabs for measles, mumps and rubellaRachel Vickers-Price UK and World News Reporter06:05, 11 Aug 2026Updated 06:07, 11 Aug 2026US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for major changes to childhood vaccines, which would mean fewer jabs for kids and mandates the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) immunisation into three separate shots.‌The 47th US President has long doubted the safety of MMR vaccines, in spite of multiple studies that have found no causal link between the shots and autism.‌The order calls for childhood vaccines to be given at separate appointments wherever possible, mandates the number of childhood vaccines drop to 11 from the currently recommended 18 as per the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP), directs the US health department to develop a plan for separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children.‌Separate shots for the current MMR vaccination are currently not available in the US.Public health experts have warned that spacing out jabs could increase the risk of children contracting vaccine-preventable diseases before returning for another appointment.‌In an announcement on Monday at the Oval Office, the US President claimed his administration "is recognising gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations for only 11 core vaccinations against the most serious and dangerous diseases".The immunisations recommended for all children under the order are for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus, and varicella (aka chicken pox)."We're reducing them," Trump said. "It's not only that you're doing fewer vaccines, or jabs, as they say, but you're doing them in a series of visits to the doctor."‌The president suggested the MMR vaccine could be "quite lethal" if given at once. He compared it to pouring a bottle of soda into a child's body.When a reporter asked for evidence of the "lethal" claim, Trump said: "What I've heard is that there are some people that say it is that way."‌AAP president Dr Andrew Racine lashed out at Monday's announcement, telling AP that Trump's mandate spreads "uncertainty, fear and confusion" where "there doesn’t need to be any of that."He also dubbed the President's directive as "dangerous" and not based on "gold-standard science"."Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school," Dr Racine added.‌Fellow Republican and Senate health committee chair Senator Bill Cassidy also criticised the move."I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong," the Louisiana senator wrote online. "The President does not have the expertise to make these changes."The order comes as children return to classrooms across the US amid a measles outbreak that experts warn could result in the country losing its measles elimination status.Article continues belowDoctors have also warned that Trump's claims about vaccines could fuel vaccine hesitancy, as federal data shows childhood vaccination rates have been falling.