Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Delivers Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans

The White House

DELIVERING GOLD STANDARD CHILDHOOD VACCINE RECOMMENDATIONS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to recognize Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations that maximize parental choices over vaccinations for their children and align three categories of childhood immunizations with scientific evidence and best practices from peer, developed countries.

  • The Order provides recommendations that give parents more information and options when making immunization decisions for their children. 
    • The Order recommends all children get immunizations to provide protection for 11 diseases – a decrease from the 18 diseases recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2024. Immunizations no longer recommended for all children are now recommended for shared clinical decision-making, ensuring that parents have all options available to them. 
    • The Order recommends separating out the combined MMR vaccine into three single-disease shots and recommends administering all vaccines during separate medical visits to give parents more options regarding the timing and frequency of this vaccine administration.
    • States that enact school vaccine requirements are advised to consider the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations and consider updating their laws to reflect the recommendations.
    • All Federal agencies are advised to advance the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations based on their relevant authorities to ensure Americans have the best scientific information. 
  • The Order maximizes parental choice over childhood vaccines by promoting State compliance with constitutional and Federal law related to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under the law, including States’ obligations to provide religious and medical exemptions from childhood and adolescent immunization requirement.
  • The Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the HHS Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, to present plans to the President to improve vaccine research and options for American parents, including continuous evaluation of the risk and benefit profiles of all childhood vaccines based on U.S. and international data. 

ENSURING AMERICANS ARE RECEIVING THE BEST MEDICAL ADVICE IN THE WORLD: HHS’ January 2026 scientific assessment compared U.S. childhood immunization recommendations with those of peer nations, analyzed vaccine uptake and public trust, evaluated clinical and epidemiological evidence and knowledge gaps, and examined vaccine mandates. 

  • The scientific assessment found that the United States currently recommends more childhood vaccines than any peer nation, including more than twice as many vaccine doses as some European nations, and identified a set of consensus vaccines that are consistently recommended in all peer countries.  
    • In 1980, American children following the CDC immunization schedule received 23 vaccine doses in 7 shots against 7 different diseases. In 2024, the recommended number of routine vaccines had risen to at least 84 vaccine doses in at least 57 shots for 17 diseases, plus the RSV monoclonal antibody immunization for a total of 18 diseases. This is more than other developed nations.
    • The scientific assessment recommends prioritizing 11 routine childhood vaccines, while preserving flexibility for parents and doctors to make individualized decisions for higher-risk children through shared clinical decision-making.
  • The scientific assessment also found that, instead of implementing vaccination mandates, most peer nations maintain high childhood vaccination rates through public trust and education.
    • The U.S. is among a minority of peer nations with childhood vaccine mandates (enacted by individual U.S. states) for school entry.
  • By signing today’s Executive Order, 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.

MAKING OUR CHILDREN HEALTHY AGAIN: President Trump is committed to building a healthier future for America, starting with our youngest generation.

  • In February 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the President’s MAHA Commission, tasking the Commission with investigating and addressing the root causes of America’s escalating health crisis, with an initial focus on childhood chronic diseases.
  • The Trump Administration ended the blanket recommendation for all children to get the COVID-19 vaccine, updating its recommendation to be based on shared clinical decision-making between patients and clinicians.
  • In May 2025, the MAHA Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment, summarizing what is known and what questions remain regarding the childhood chronic disease crisis. 
  • In September 2025, the MAHA Commission released the Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a sweeping plan with more than 120 initiatives to reverse the failed policies that fueled America’s childhood chronic disease epidemic. The strategy prioritized development of a vaccine framework that ensures America has the best childhood vaccine schedule.
  • In December 2025, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum beginning the process to align U.S. core childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer, developed countries.
    • At President Trump’s direction, HHS conducted the aforementioned scientific assessment on childhood vaccination recommendations. 
  • In May, President Trump signed an Executive Order realigning United States core childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer, developed countries.

Related