FACT FOCUS: Trump makes false claims as he signs order urging revisions around childhood vaccines
While issuing an executive order on Monday aimed at getting states to revise childhood vaccine recommendations , President Donald…
On Monday, August 10, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at encouraging states to revise their childhood vaccine recommendations. During the signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made several false claims about vaccines and their connection to autism.
The order proposed separating the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three distinct shots and administering other childhood vaccines on separate appointments. However, public health experts raised concerns about these recommendations, warning that spacing out the shots could heighten the risk of children contracting vaccine-preventable diseases before the next visit. They emphasized that childhood vaccines have been extensively researched and proven to be safe and effective at protecting children for decades.
Trump's erroneous statement that "In many cases, we were requiring 72 jabs for our beautiful, healthy, lovely, delicate little children" was misleading. In 2025, the government's childhood vaccination schedule recommended protection against 18 diseases, resulting in between birth and age 18 requiring around three dozen separate injections.
This number varied based on factors such as the vaccine brand, combination shots, and the child's starting age. However, the inclusion of annual flu vaccines and COVID-19 shots reduced the total number of injections to approximately 23 when only the universally recommended vaccines were administered.
It is crucial to note that vaccines were never mandated, as families could choose to opt-out. School enrollment typically mandated specific vaccines, but these requirements were less stringent than the federal vaccine schedule, and many states provided varying exemption options. In January, the Trump administration reduced the national vaccine recommendations to 11 diseases, with additional vaccines for high-risk children or available through "shared decision-making" with a healthcare professional, reducing the overall number of injections to about 23.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
