Trump signs new vaccination order; health experts call it wrong, risky

Days after his executive order on 'Birthright Citizenship' and 'Birth Tourism,' US President Donald Trump has signed another one that's become a talking point. His new executive order calls for separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots and administering all childhood immunisations at separate appointments whenever possible. According to the White House, the president wants to maximise parental choice through this step. The order directs the US health department to also present a plan to offer separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines for children, since they are not currently an option in the United States.

When will it change?
There won't be any changes to the types of shots the families can avail, for months or even years, simply because they are not available. The shots only come combined as MMR or as MMR-varicella, which also protects against chickenpox. The White House has also acknowledged that single vaccines for mumps, measles and rubella are not available in the US now. Therefore, if at all parents want to do it, it won't be possible. The order is also likely to be challenged soon.

Health experts worried: Reasons
Public health experts have raised concerns that spacing out shots as Trump suggests can lead to an increased risk that children become infected with a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit.

Childhood vaccines go through rigorous studies, and safety tracking continues for years as the shots are used. How and when to give them, and in what combination, are also extensively studied. Studies of babies and toddlers in the US have shown that using combination shots for childhood vaccines, rather than single ones, increased the likelihood of completing all recommended vaccinations by the age of 2.

Dr Katherine Matthias, a South Carolina-based paediatrician, also told CNN that if the vaccines administered at 4 years old are administered separately, parents will have to give kids five to nine of them, instead of two! They will also have to visit the doctor every two weeks for extra doses. This means they are more likely to not finish a proper, full series of shots, she said.

Doctors' take
Dr Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Paediatrics, said this announcement spreads uncertainty, fear and confusion where 'there doesn't need to be any of that.' He disputed Trump's recommendations and said previous ones should stand. Senator Bill Cassidy, the Republican chair of the Senate health committee, slammed the executive order in a social media post, saying vaccines are safe and do not cause autism. "I'm a doctor. This executive order is wrong," the Louisiana senator wrote. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes," she said.
(With inputs from Reuters)