WHO and UK regulators defend MMR vaccine safety against US policy changes

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have reaffirmed the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine following an executive order from US President Donald Trump.

President Trump’s order calls for a review of school vaccine mandates, a reduction in the number of childhood vaccines, and recommends that MMR doses be administered as three separate shots. During the signing, the President suggested a link between current vaccination rates and rising autism rates, stating, “In those times, people were much healthier and of course the high rates of autism now observed did not exist.”

In response, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus stated that the evidence is “unequivocal” and that vaccines do not cause autism. He warned that delaying or separating doses leaves children vulnerable to preventable diseases. Similarly, MHRA Chief Safety Officer Dr. Alison Cave emphasized that large-scale studies involving millions of children have consistently shown no link between vaccines and autism, describing vaccination as one of the most effective ways to protect against infectious diseases.