While issuing an executive order on Monday aimed at getting states to revise childhood vaccine recommendations, President Donald Trump and others in his administration repeated several false claims about those vaccines, as well as their relationship to autism. The order recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate single-disease shots and administering childhood vaccines at separate appointments whenever possible. In 2025, the government’s childhood vaccination schedule recommended routine protection against 18 diseases. Doctors point out that separate vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella are not available in the United States. During the executive order signing, Kennedy and Trump suggested that childhood vaccines may play a role in causing autism.