Trump announces plan to split childhood vaccines into five doses

President Donald Trump announced that the White House will demand vaccine manufacturers split certain routine childhood vaccines into five separate doses administered at six-month intervals. Speaking from the Oval Office alongside U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump stated that each dose would contain approximately 20% of the amount found in current single-shot doses. He claimed this approach would lead to a “massive reduction in autism,” though he did not specify which vaccines would be targeted or provide supporting evidence.

This announcement follows a previous executive order that reduced the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 18 to 11. That order also recommended splitting the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine into three individual shots delivered over 18 months.

Medical researchers have criticized the proposal, noting that combination vaccines can interact in unpredictable ways. Additionally, previous studies, including a large-scale cohort study from Denmark, have concluded that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk of autism.