WHO defends childhood immunization schedules after Trump reduction order
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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday defended its immunization guidelines amid the Trump administration’s decision to decrease the number of recommended childhood vaccines in the U.S.
President Trump signed an executive order Monday that reinforced his administration’s push to reduce the number of recommended vaccines for children from 17 to 11.
This new directive shifts recommendations for vaccines that protect from diseases like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and hepatitis B for only “high risk” children and immunization for rotavirus to a “shared clinical decision” made by parents and physicians.
The WHO includes these three vaccines in their general recommendations for childhood immunization programs across the globe.
Tarik Jašarević, a spokesperson for the WHO, addressed the changes to the U.S. vaccine schedule during a UN press briefing on Tuesday.
Jašarević noted that the WHO’s recommendations for when people receive vaccine doses is “based on years of research across the world on how the immune system develops, when a person is most susceptible for a disease and how to keep protection strong.”
“This is all science-based, what comes out from WHO, and this is the advice we give to all countries, and we hope that all countries will use this best scientific evidence that we have,” Jašarević added.
Medical experts have pushed back on these changes to the U.S. vaccine schedule. States are ultimately responsible for setting these immunization standards, but they rely on federal and global recommendations for guidance.
The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Andrew Racine, called the proposed changes to childhood immunization programs “not only disheartening but dangerous” in a Monday statement.
“Instead of ensuring every family can access life-saving vaccines for measles, influenza, RSV and more, federal leaders are once again spreading misleading claims,” Racine said.
Public health experts and doctors have also criticized the executive order’s inclusion of a new recommendation to split up the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) into three separate shots administered in separate doctor visits.
Dr. Ashish Jha, who served as the coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response under former President Biden, called the move a “terrible idea” in a Monday interview with The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation.
“No other country does this,” Jha said. “No country in Europe does this. Tajikistan used to do this, but they don’t even do that anymore. But I don’t want to be like Tajikistan, right? I want to be like Canada and [the] U.K. and Germany and France, and none of them do this stuff.”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · Axios ↗ · The Hill ↗
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday defended its immunization guidelines amid the Trump administration’s decision to decrease the number of recommended childhood…
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
Skip to content
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday defended its immunization guidelines amid the Trump administration’s decision to decrease the number of recommended childhood vaccines in the U.S.
President Trump signed an executive order Monday that reinforced his administration’s push to reduce the number of recommended vaccines for children from 17 to 11.
This new directive shifts recommendations for vaccines that protect from diseases like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and hepatitis B for only “high risk” children and immunization for rotavirus to a “shared clinical decision” made by parents and physicians.
The WHO includes these three vaccines in their general recommendations for childhood immunization programs across the globe.
Tarik Jašarević, a spokesperson for the WHO, addressed the changes to the U.S. vaccine schedule during a UN press briefing on Tuesday.
Jašarević noted that the WHO’s recommendations for when people receive vaccine doses is “based on years of research across the world on how the immune system develops, when a person is most susceptible for a disease and how to keep protection strong.”
“This is all science-based, what comes out from WHO, and this is the advice we give to all countries, and we hope that all countries will use this best scientific evidence that we have,” Jašarević added.
Medical experts have pushed back on these changes to the U.S. vaccine schedule. States are ultimately responsible for setting these immunization standards, but they rely on federal and global recommendations for guidance.
The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Andrew Racine, called the proposed changes to childhood immunization programs “not only disheartening but dangerous” in a Monday statement.
“Instead of ensuring every family can access life-saving vaccines for measles, influenza, RSV and more, federal leaders are once again spreading misleading claims,” Racine said.
Public health experts and doctors have also criticized the executive order’s inclusion of a new recommendation to split up the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) into three separate shots administered in separate doctor visits.
Dr. Ashish Jha, who served as the coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response under former President Biden, called the move a “terrible idea” in a Monday interview with The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation.
“No other country does this,” Jha said. “No country in Europe does this. Tajikistan used to do this, but they don’t even do that anymore. But I don’t want to be like Tajikistan, right? I want to be like Canada and [the] U.K. and Germany and France, and none of them do this stuff.”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · Axios ↗ · The Hill ↗
Skip to content
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday defended its immunization guidelines amid the Trump administration’s decision to decrease the number of recommended childhood vaccines in the U.S.
President Trump signed an executive order Monday that reinforced his administration’s push to reduce the number of recommended vaccines for children from 17 to 11.
This new directive shifts recommendations for vaccines that protect from diseases like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and hepatitis B for only “high risk” children and immunization for rotavirus to a “shared clinical decision” made by parents and physicians.
The WHO includes these three vaccines in their general recommendations for childhood immunization programs across the globe.
Tarik Jašarević, a spokesperson for the WHO, addressed the changes to the U.S. vaccine schedule during a UN press briefing on Tuesday.
Jašarević noted that the WHO’s recommendations for when people receive vaccine doses is “based on years of research across the world on how the immune system develops, when a person is most susceptible for a disease and how to keep protection strong.”
“This is all science-based, what comes out from WHO, and this is the advice we give to all countries, and we hope that all countries will use this best scientific evidence that we have,” Jašarević added.
Medical experts have pushed back on these changes to the U.S. vaccine schedule. States are ultimately responsible for setting these immunization standards, but they rely on federal and global recommendations for guidance.
The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Andrew Racine, called the proposed changes to childhood immunization programs “not only disheartening but dangerous” in a Monday statement.
“Instead of ensuring every family can access life-saving vaccines for measles, influenza, RSV and more, federal leaders are once again spreading misleading claims,” Racine said.
Public health experts and doctors have also criticized the executive order’s inclusion of a new recommendation to split up the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) into three separate shots administered in separate doctor visits.
Dr. Ashish Jha, who served as the coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response under former President Biden, called the move a “terrible idea” in a Monday interview with The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation.
“No other country does this,” Jha said. “No country in Europe does this. Tajikistan used to do this, but they don’t even do that anymore. But I don’t want to be like Tajikistan, right? I want to be like Canada and [the] U.K. and Germany and France, and none of them do this stuff.”
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · Axios ↗ · The Hill ↗
This lens runs the verified story through Cinnamon's AI — wired in the next step.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday defended its immunization guidelines amid the Trump administration’s decision to decrease the number of recommended childhood…