WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing federal health officials to review and potentially update the United States’ childhood vaccine schedule to better align with practices in peer developed nations, citing findings that the U.S. currently recommends more childhood vaccines than any comparable country.
The order directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to review a recent Department of Health and Human Services scientific assessment comparing U.S. childhood immunization recommendations with those of peer nations. The committee is instructed to take appropriate steps to update the U.S. childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule based on that review, with an emphasis on providing maximum flexibility to parents and doctors in the timing and sequencing of routine immunizations.
The HHS scientific assessment found that in 1980, American children following the CDC immunization schedule received 23 vaccine doses in 7 shots against 7 diseases. By 2024, that figure had risen to at least 84 doses in at least 57 shots covering 17 diseases — more than any other developed nation. The assessment identified 11 routine childhood vaccines consistently recommended across all peer countries as a priority, while preserving flexibility for parents and physicians to make individualized decisions for higher-risk children through shared clinical decision-making.
The assessment also found that most peer nations maintain high childhood vaccination rates through public trust and education rather than mandates, and that the United States is among a minority of peer nations where childhood vaccine mandates exist for school entry, enacted at the state level.
The order further directs all federal departments and agencies to ensure that actions, regulations, funding, and coverage related to child and adolescent immunizations align with any updated schedule adopted by the CDC, while preserving Americans’ existing access to vaccines. HHS is also directed to inform state governments and health officials of federal policy and make the scientific assessment available as a resource for states considering their own vaccination laws.
Trump framed the order as consistent with his administration’s broader MAHA initiative. In February, he established the President’s MAHA Commission to investigate the root causes of childhood chronic disease. The commission subsequently released assessments and a strategy outlining more than 120 initiatives to address the issue, including development of an updated vaccine framework. The administration also previously ended the blanket recommendation for all children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, shifting to a shared clinical decision-making model between patients and their doctors.