Oregon Health Leaders Stick With Vaccine Guidance After Trump Order Calls for Separate MMR Shots

President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) calling for the combined MMR vaccine to be given as three separate shots on three separate occasions has not changed the West Coast Health Alliance’s stance on evidence-based vaccine guidance.

The EO also instructs the Department of Justice to review state rules on medical and religious exemptions and requests that states reexamine school vaccination protocols.

EO Calls for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccines to be Administered Separately on Three Separate Occasions

Trump signed the Executive Order on August 10 calling for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, given to toddlers at 12 to 15 months and repeated at 4 to 6 years of age, to be administered as three separate shots on three separate occasions.

The EO is Seen as an Attempt to Dismantle the Childhood Immunization Schedule

The EO is seen as the latest move by the administration to dismantle the U.S. childhood immunization schedule – vaccine recommendations to prevent the outbreak of serious infections.

The EO also endorses reducing the recommended number of childhood vaccines from 17 to 11.

In a statement released by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), the WCHA says Oregonians deserve access to vaccinations based on evidence and the recommendations of experienced health and science professionals endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

“This evidence-based schedule reflects the most current science-based safety and benefits of immunizations that protect children and adolescents from infectious diseases, and has saved millions of lives in the United States,” says the WCHA.

The WCHA also endorses the 2026 Maternal Immunization Schedule issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which recommends routine vaccinations during pregnancy to protect mother and child from serious illness.