Trump directs MMR vaccine to be split in three parts, backs autism claim

President Donald Trump signed an executive order making changes to the childhood vaccination schedule. The order calls for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be split into three separate shots, once such products are available in the US.

The order also recommends that all childhood immunizations be administered at separate medical visits. According to The Guardian US, only six of the 17 vaccines routinely recommended for all children in the US would continue to have full recommendations.

At the signing of the order, Trump referred to the possibility of the combined MMR vaccine being "quite lethal" and also mentioned autism, despite studies showing no link between it and vaccines. The changes appear to be an attempt to override the authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is tasked with recommending vaccines.

Brief written by urgent.news from Endpoints News, CBS News, Guardian Health, The Guardian US, Axios — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.