By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
WASHINGTON DC – Childhood vaccines in the U.S. has been an ongoing discussion for years really taking center stage after the COVID-19 vaccination controversy.
President Donald Trump recently brought the childhood vaccine controversy back into the spotlights when he addressed universal recommendations on 11 core vaccinations.
As a result, his EO split the MMR vaccine into separate doses, and spotlighted legal challenges currently against states over religious or medical exemptions.
Breaking that down Trump signed the executive action on August 10.
The EO was titled Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans.
Basically, the administration says this EO is necessary to maximize parental choice while also aligning U.S. health metrics with other developed nations.
Federal routine recommendations are now 11 core childhood vaccines; it was 17 vaccines therefore now omitting regular universal guidelines for conditions like the flu and rotavirus. The remaining six vaccines would shift to risk-based options or individual parental choices.
The EO directs federal agencies to split the combined Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate single-disease shots. It is said this is to space the timing of the vaccines to reduce the fluid load given to infants at one time to therefore address concerns about autism.
Regarding the autism claims, the administration believes dividing the vaccine reduces the total amount of fluid and number of targets introduced during a single doctor’s appointment.
President Trump’s EO was also related to officials stating that separating the components gives families more control and authority over medical decisions and personal schedules.
Overall, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said there is no published scientific data that indicates health or safety benefits by separating the combination shot and that extensive global research does not show a link between the MMR vaccine.
Even so, autism spectrum disorder diagnoses have risen significantly over the last few decades, as tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The baseline in the 1990s to 2000 when the CDC first began tracking autism prevalence in children born in 1992, recorded roughly 1 in 150 children. Recent increases recorded in 2023 have the CDC reporting the rate has reached 1 in 36.
The latest data released by the CDC’s ADDM Network shows that autism prevalence among 8-year-olds has reached 1 in 31 children (approximately 3.2% of children). For boys specifically, the diagnosis rate is 1 in 20.
Public health officials, pediatricians, and researchers believe this curve is due to improved screening tools, and broadened diagnostic criteria, but the fact that the number of routine immunizations recommended for American children has shifted over time cannot be ignored. It has moved from a sparse schedule in the late 20th century to a comprehensive model and is now back down under the Trump administration.
More to the point, a parent’s decision to determine their child’s health is also of importance.
To that end, the EO directs the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to support or launch legal challenges against states with narrow vaccine rules. The federal government is targeting states that fail to offer or recognize broad religious, philosophical, or medical exemptions for school immunization requirements. To force compliance, the administration has directed the Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services (HHS) to pressure federal contractors and grantees. The Department of Education has also been told to cut federal grant funding to non-compliant states; however, some states are still pushing back, and governors and attorneys general have said they will maintain their strict mandates allowing for the issue to be settled in federal court.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
