President Trump has signed an executive order advising states to offer separate measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, despite their current unavailability and lack of scientific support.

US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order encouraging states to provide individual vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella as an alternative to the combined MMR shot. While the president has characterized the triple vaccine as potentially lethal, health experts and pharmaceutical companies maintain that the combined vaccine is safe and effective. Currently, separate vaccines for these diseases are not widely available or licensed in the US or the UK.

Availability and Regulatory Challenges

Pharmaceutical companies, including GSK and Merck & Co, have stated that there is no scientific evidence supporting the use of separate vaccines over the combined MMR shot. Because these individual vaccines have not been in wide use for decades, they lack current licenses. Manufacturers would likely need to conduct new clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy, a process that would take years, and companies have indicated they are not currently investing in their production.

Historical Context and Policy Implications

The push for separate vaccines echoes claims made in 1998 by Andrew Wakefield, a former British gastroenterologist who falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism and Crohn’s disease. His advocacy for separate shots led to a decline in vaccination rates and a subsequent rise in measles cases. President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have also proposed reducing the US vaccine schedule from 18 to 11 shots, citing Denmark's model, though critics note that Denmark provides universal healthcare and screening programs that the US lacks.