Effective immediately.

Visit Three

August 11, 2026 · Ibid.

A jammed pediatric clinic front desk: a harried receptionist holds her pen over a vast appointment ledger and tells a parent holding a baby that rubella isn't licensed, while a whiteboard behind her numbers three separate visits for measles, mumps and rubella, a framed order with a huge marker signature hangs crooked beside it, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sits waiting in the packed chairs.

Trump signed an executive order overriding the CDC childhood immunization schedule, cutting recommended vaccinations from 18 diseases to 11. The order requires the MMR vaccine be split into three separate shots, although no separately licensed measles, mumps or rubella vaccines exist in the US and licensing takes years. It also directs that immunizations be given at separate visits where feasible, and tasks the attorney general with challenging conflicting state laws.