Trump vaccine executive order: What Michigan parents need to know
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LANSING, Mich. (News 10) – Some health officials are warning that federal changes to the childhood vaccine schedule could cause problems for Michigan families.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to establish what he calls the “Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations.”
The order includes reducing the recommended number of routine shots for children from 18 to 11. It also advises doctors to administer vaccinations during separate visits, rather than giving multiple immunizations at once.
Changes could affect how vaccines are made
The order could also change the way certain vaccines are manufactured in the United States.
The MMR vaccine — which covers measles, mumps and rubella — is currently administered as a combined two-dose immunization.
The new standard recommends administering a separate immunization for each disease, but those individual shots are not currently available in the U.S.
Dr. Nicholas Haddad of Central Michigan University College of Medicine said production would take time.
“For manufacturers to make them, it would take some time to actually produce them on the mass level to be effective,” Haddad said.
Haddad also said separating vaccinations into individual visits could create additional burdens for families.
“Breaking this down would ultimately or may ultimately lead to the need for more visits, which is an inconvenience for many families,” Haddad said.
Michigan parents weighing the changes
The new standards directly conflict with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
Mid-Michigan mother Laela Ivey-Brown said she is relying on her doctor and her own judgment.
“If it’s something that I’ve heard of and it’s been around for a while, I’m a lot more comfortable,” she told News 10. “I’m realistic, and if it’s something that makes me uncomfortable or fearful or if there’s a rush to it, then I kind of hang back, wait for some information, and then make my decision based on that.”
The executive order could face delays from legal challenges.
State governments also control actual school vaccine requirements, which could limit the federal order’s reach.
The order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines to submit plans and reports on implementation to President Trump within 90 days.
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