On Monday, August 10, 2026, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at reducing the number of universally recommended vaccines for children from 18 to 11 diseases. This move reaffirms a significant vaccine schedule overhaul announced earlier this year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which has since been blocked in court.

The order proposes that vaccines for the remaining diseases be recommended only for high-risk groups or be subject to shared clinical decision-making between parents and their child's doctor. According to Kennedy, the changes are intended to provide parents with more choices and do not prohibit access to vaccines.

Heidi Overton, deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, stated that the executive order is intended to "correct" the legal obstacles faced by Kennedy's previous vaccine overhaul. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that no individual vaccines for the separated diseases are currently Food and Drug Administration-approved or available, and no published evidence supports benefits in separating them.

The order requires a plan to be submitted within 90 days, setting a deadline shortly after the midterm elections. The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to base its vaccine schedule on when vaccines are most effective for a child's immune system and when protection is most needed, generally aligning with CDC guidance prior to Kennedy's tenure.

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