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Trump Signs Order Calling For Fewer Childhood Vaccines
- June 2, 2026
- Andria Park Huynh HealthDay Reporter
President Donald Trump has ordered federal health agencies to review and potentially narrow the list of vaccines recommended for kids.
The executive order signed Friday aligns on a scientific assessment released earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which noted that that the United States "recommends more childhood vaccines than any peer nation, and more than twice as many vaccine doses as some European nations," according to CBS.
In response, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated recommendations in January, reducing the number of childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11 – a move that sparked heavy criticism from health experts and organizations.
The CDC’s assessment found that only children in high-risk categories should receive immunizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY and meningococcal B.
It kept recommendations as is for 11 childhood diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumonia, polio, human papillomavirus (HPV) and chickenpox, according to CBS.
Trump's order calls for the CDC and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, to review HHS' January assessment as well as the latest clinical data and to "take any appropriate steps to update the United States childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule."
In a fact sheet accompanying Friday's executive order, the White House said: "President Trump is reaffirming his commitment to gold-standard science, ensuring Americans receive the best possible medical advice, and empowering patients and doctors with maximum flexibility."
After the January assessment, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its own vaccine recommendations, breaking significantly with the CDC's guidance. It continues to recommend routine immunization for protection against 18 diseases, including RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, influenza (flu) and meningococcal disease.
AAP has said most developed countries have similar practices and differences in vaccine guidelines owe to country-specific factors, CBS noted.
"We don't follow Denmark's vaccine recommendations because we don't live in Denmark," Dr. Jose Romero, a member of AAP’s committee on infectious diseases, said in a statement last year. "Children in the United States are at risk of different diseases than children in other countries. We also have a completely different health system."
The American College of Physicians (ACP) expressed its concerns about Trump’s order.
"This is the second time the administration has attempted to unilaterally substitute vaccine guidance from other countries to replace the U.S. vaccine schedule which was developed for the specific needs of the U.S. population," ACP President Dr. Jan Carney said in a statement. "The U.S. childhood vaccine schedule was designed through years of transparent, scientific review focused on preventing serious illness, outbreaks and deaths among our country’s large, diverse population with uneven access to health care services.
"The evidence is clear: vaccines are safe and effective at preventing deaths, hospitalizations and the spread of disease," she added. "The changes that this executive order directs cannot be allowed to move forward."
More information
Johns Hopkins University has more on the new vaccine recommendations and what they mean for families.
SOURCES: CBS, May 29, 2026; White House, executive order and fact sheet, May 29, 2026; American College of Physicians, news release, June 1, 2026
