Here’s how the new Trump vaccine recommendations differ from previous guidelines

Data Visualization Journalist

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that aims to overhaul childhood vaccination guidelines and reduce the number of shots children receive.

The order calls for splitting the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate injections, and it nixes several vaccinations from the list recommended for all children.

The Get the Facts Data Team reviewed and analyzed the existing recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, finding that Trump’s new order calls for halving the recommended doses (from about 50 minimum to about 25) for all children under 18 years old.

Slide the interactive below to see the differences in recommended vaccines for children.

The doses above are not necessarily delivered in separate injections, and some may be available orally. Vaccine recommendations differ for children with certain health risks and histories.

The White House has circulated an image of a baby surrounded by needles that says “European Country: 11 injections. United States: 72 injections.”

That graphic is inaccurate.

Our partners at PolitiFact found that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has never recommended that babies under 2 get 72 injections. Even including kids through the age of 17, the 72 number is a stretch and would have to include annual flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

This isn’t the first time vaccines have been questioned

In March, a federal judge blocked similar orders from the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce childhood vaccination requirements.

AAP said, in response to the new executive order, that no evidence supports the need to change childhood vaccination guidelines.

“The only purpose of this announcement is to sow confusion so that more people doubt the importance of vaccines,” AAP President Andrew Racine said in a statement. “Delaying or skipping shots is risky, especially as measles continues to spread and children go back to school.”

The AAP maintains guidelines for parents and doctors on childhood vaccinations.

States break from federal government

States reserve the right to establish their own vaccine requirements for school children.

Historically, states have linked those requirements to guidance from the CDC. But since the Trump administration has started pushing for changes in vaccinations, many states have split from federal guidelines.

So far, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have said they rely on sources other than the current federal government for vaccine recommendations, according to an analysis from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization.