Maine CDC say the state will continue to follow established guidelines for childhood vaccinations, despite an executive order Monday from President Trump.
The executive order drops the list of diseases all children should be vaccinated against from 18 to 11. It also separates the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different single-disease shots.
Governor Janet Mills and the state CDC issued a statement Tuesday expressing disapproval of President Trump’s order, saying Maine will continue following the guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on childhood vaccine recommendations.
“President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are playing politics with the lives of our nation’s children. Vaccines are safe and effective and save lives,” said Governor Mills. “Maine will continue to follow the science and the facts, and our approach to vaccines remains unchanged by yesterday’s executive order.”
The executive order reaffirms a dramatic overhaul of child vaccines announced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year, which has been blocked in court.
The order tasks Kennedy with coming up with options to make separate shots available, and is due within 90 days, giving Kennedy a deadline just after the midterm elections.
The AAP is its own statement Monday in response to Trump’s executive order.
“Vaccine recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics are tailored to the health of children living in the United States and are based on decades of research and systematic tracking of real-world experiences,” AAP said. “Pediatricians recommend children receive certain vaccines at specific ages based on when children’s immune systems will respond best and when they are most vulnerable to certain diseases. Sometimes this means children will receive a single shot that protects against multiple diseases, or they may receive multiple vaccines at one visit.”
