Health
Health Officials Likely to Miss Trump’s 90‑Day Vaccine Plan Deadline
Health officials in the Trump administration are expected to miss the president’s deadline for new childhood vaccination recommendations, according to sources familiar with the matter. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that directed agencies to produce a plan within 90 days to separate the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into individual shots. The order also requires plans to evaluate the ideal timing of childhood vaccines, develop alternatives to aluminum in some shots, and improve safety monitoring.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has submitted a draft of the plan to the White House, sources said. Kennedy had promised plans by Nov. 8 during the signing of the order and said, “We will bring you actions and findings as soon as they are ready. We will not wait for the 90‑day period. And within 90 days, as you have directed, we will deliver the full response required by this executive order.”
An HHS spokesperson said the agency is actively implementing the order, noting that the HHS Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines is working to strengthen vaccine safety research, improve transparency, and expand options for families. The spokesperson added that the work requires careful scientific review and that HHS remains committed to advancing the president’s priorities through gold‑standard science and informed parental choice.
MMR vaccines are manufactured by Merck & Co. Inc. and GSK Plc. The delay comes amid the largest measles outbreak the country has seen in decades and a threat to the United States’ long‑held elimination status. Next week, the Pan American Health Organization will convene to determine whether the U.S. has experienced continued transmission for more than 12 months, which would trigger loss of its elimination status.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded 5,182 measles cases across 45 states as of Nov. 6. Pennsylvania has the highest number of infections and has confirmed six measles‑associated deaths. On Nov. 2, New York reported its first measles fatality in three decades, and three days later, Wisconsin announced its first fatality in an infant. The federal government has yet to acknowledge all of the deaths after Kennedy questioned the legitimacy of the first deaths in Pennsylvania, sparking a political dispute with Governor Josh Shapiro. The CDC is working with epidemiologists to determine a national definition of a measles death.
Top health officials sit on the task force that is developing the plans. By law, officials leading the nation’s top health agencies must have a seat in the group. The director of the National Institutes of Health chairs the group, which also includes the CDC director and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Kennedy, Trump’s incoming chief of staff Stephen Miller and the president’s pending nominee for FDA commissioner, Heidi Overton, appeared alongside Trump at the executive order signing. The required plan is the latest step in a series of attempts by Trump and Kennedy to pare down the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule, following a presidential memorandum in January and a May executive order that sought to align U.S. shot schedules with countries that recommend fewer immunizations. The health agency in August solicited public comment on changing the categories of vaccine recommendations.