Trump Orders Separation of MMR Vaccine Amid Autism Claims

President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine be administered as three separate single-disease shots. The directive further mandates that all childhood immunizations occur during separate medical visits. Trump publicly attributed the rise in autism cases to vaccinations and defended the policy, stating, "Nothing bad can happen from what we are doing."

The order follows a secretive, multimillion-dollar research mission led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to identify the causes of autism. While the Department of Health and Human Services claims the move is based on peer country guidance, reports indicate no other peer country follows this practice. Despite previous assurances from Kennedy, no evidence linking vaccines to autism has been produced, and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya admitted that scientists do not know why autism rates have risen.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, condemned the order as "wrong on so many levels." Cassidy argued the policy increases costs and inconvenience for parents and warned that it has the potential to decrease protection against deadly diseases, leading to more children becoming sick. The dispute unfolds during a historic wave of measles infections and less than 90 days before midterm elections.