Trump signs order reducing recommended childhood vaccines, makes inaccurate statements

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Monday that reduces the number of vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for children from 18 to 11 and proposes separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot into three separate injections.

During the announcement, Trump claimed that "little children" in the United States receive as many as 72 injections, a figure that the White House later illustrated with a graphic of a baby surrounded by needles. Fact-checkers note that the 72 count includes all doses a person could receive by age 18, such as annual flu and COVID-19 shots, and that state vaccine requirements vary, so the number of injections given to infants is far lower.

Trump also described an MMR dose as being "the size of a bottle of soda poured into a little child's body." The Food and Drug Administration states a single MMR dose is 0.5 ml, roughly a fraction of a teaspoon, and experts say the total volume of all recommended childhood vaccines is far smaller than a soda bottle.

He suggested that administering the MMR vaccine in three separate shots could be "quite lethal." The CDC reports that serious adverse reactions to the MMR vaccine are extremely rare, with the most common severe side effect being a febrile seizure occurring in about one out of every 3,000 to 4,000 vaccinations.

Trump linked rising autism rates to increased vaccine use, asserting the condition now occurs "one in 10,000" compared with a lower rate years ago. CDC data show autism prevalence rose from about one in 110 in 2006 to one in 88 in 2008, a change attributed to broader diagnostic criteria and greater awareness rather than vaccination. Multiple studies, including a 2025 World Health Organization review of millions of children, have found no causal link between vaccines and autism.

"Most people who receive the MMR vaccine do not have any serious adverse reactions," the CDC said.

"The most severe risks of the vaccine include febrile seizure or a serious allergic reaction, which are extremely rare," the CDC added.

Public health experts emphasize that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the minimal risks and that misinformation can undermine immunisation programs.