During a White House meeting, Donald Trump promoted the unproven idea that administering the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines individually is a safer alternative.
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, August 10, aimed at reshaping childhood immunization policies.
Alongside the announcement—which urges states to reevaluate their vaccine guidelines and aims to scale back universal recommendations—Trump repeated long-disproven claims connecting vaccines to autism.
He asserted that splitting the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shot into three separate visits would be safer, even suggesting that the combined vaccine could potentially be lethal to children. But how factual are these statements?
Claim: Trump claimed that the combined MMR vaccine could be lethal to children
President Trump just signed an executive order dramatically scaling back the childhood vaccine schedule.
It spreads shots across more visits and removes vaccines children do not need from universal recommendations.
“Effective immediately, my administration is recognizing gold… pic.twitter.com/Oxt57S5jQX
— MAHA Action (@MAHA_Action) August 10, 2026
The newly signed executive order directs state authorities to review their vaccination prerequisites and attempts to decrease the overall number of vaccines routinely recommended for children.
It also pushes for the MMR immunization to be broken down into three standalone injections administered across multiple doctor visits, reviving an administration priority that had previously faced legal roadblocks.
Addressing reporters during the signing, Trump stated, “We want it in three separate vaccinations given at separate times.”
He further remarked, “Together, there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal. And separately, it looks like they are not at all lethal, but just very effective.”
Acknowledging the logistical hurdles, he added, “It’s inconvenient, it’s five stops… But it’s something that I think will have a huge impact on autism.”
Defending the policy shift, Trump claimed, “The worst thing that would happen would be nothing happens. We’re not going to lose anything… At the same time, we could gain tremendously. We could save hundreds of thousands of lives, millions of lives.”
Fact Check: False, no evidence to support the claim
This claim is entirely false. Extensive medical research and decades of accumulated data demonstrate that the combined MMR vaccine is both safe and highly effective at shielding children from measles, mumps, and rubella.
Medical professionals also note that standalone vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella are not even commercially available in the United States.
“I’m concerned about an unintended consequence of people under-vaccinating because of fear that giving a single dose of the MMR is going to put their child at risk when there’s no evidence to suggest that’s the case,” warned Dr. Aaron Milstone, pediatric director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins Health System and a fellow with the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“There are many, many, many years of scientific data highlighting the safety of vaccines in children,” Milstone emphasized.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the vast majority of individuals who receive the MMR vaccine experience no serious adverse effects.
The agency maintains that receiving the MMR vaccine is far safer than contracting measles, mumps, or rubella, all of which carry risks of severe complications.
While the vaccine has been linked to rare side effects like febrile seizures and severe allergic reactions, the CDC classifies these occurrences as “extremely rare.”