States, not Washington, set school vaccination requirements
President Donald Trump planned to sign an executive order Monday calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held belief that certain shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits, according to a White House fact sheet.
The order will recommend separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots administered in separate visits, the fact sheet says, and direct the nation’s health department to improve vaccine research. The fact sheet was first reported by The Daily Caller.
Separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines for children are not currently available in the United States, according to the report.
Public health experts have raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit.
Even as the order calls for revised vaccine recommendations, states, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren, the report notes.