U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an order that reduces from 18 to 11 the number of diseases against which the federal government recommends vaccinating all children. He justified this with the unconfirmed link between vaccines and autism. The measure, developed jointly with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also introduces new categories for other types of immunization.
According to the order, vaccines against influenza, COVID-19, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, and meningitis will now belong to the category of vaccinations, the decision on which will depend on risk assessment or joint decision of parents and doctors. The document also provides for a review of the federal childhood vaccination schedule. The White House presented this measure under the name “Gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations” (childhood vaccination recommendations that the U.S. administration considers exemplary) as a step toward establishing a new vaccination schedule.
During the signing, Trump again questioned the safety of the combined vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella and linked it to the increase in the number of autism cases, despite the fact that “decades of research have not found a causal link between vaccines and autism.” The order also instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to submit proposals within 90 days to review the vaccination schedule, develop alternatives to aluminum adjuvants, and enhance vaccine safety research.
Trump’s statements and experts’ warnings
Trump stated during the signing that “nothing bad can happen” due to the review of recommendations. The order also instructs the government to consider possible changes to state policies regarding vaccination requirements for school attendance. Public health experts have warned about a possible increase in the number of vaccine-preventable diseases in a year when the U.S. has already recorded the highest number of measles cases in decades.
The president again linked the combined vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella to autism, stating that the vaccination system “looks the size of a soda bottle.” Trump told journalists that at the age of one, children should receive vaccines during “five different visits, instead of doing them all in one day.” He added that vaccines “will no longer be recommended for all children.” The Republican claimed to have seen a vaccination system that “looks the size of a soda bottle” and is injected into the body of a small child, which is a controversial claim regarding the combined vaccine.
Criticism of the decision and legal threats
In addition, the order instructs the attorney general to take legal action against states that violate minors’ rights to religious or medical exemptions from vaccination requirements.
The decision was criticized by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor by profession, who will leave the Senate next year after losing his party’s primary. Cassidy stated that Trump lacks the necessary experience for such changes and defended the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. The Republican, who opposes Trump, also rejected claims about the link between vaccines and autism. He warned that splitting the combined vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella into three separate injections could lead to more shots for children and increase parents’ doubts about vaccination.
Source: La Vanguardia
