US President Donald Trump has ordered a major rethink of childhood vaccinations, calling for fewer routine shots.
He is recommending that the combined MMR vaccine be split into separate doses.
But why change a system that has protected children for decades?
Trump said children today receive too many vaccines and suggested the MMR shot could be dangerous.
Yet health experts strongly dispute that claim. The CDC says most people experience no serious problems from the MMR vaccine.
Multiple studies have found no link between the vaccine and autism.
The order recommends 11 core vaccines, down from the 18 currently recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
It is guidance rather than a federal mandate, meaning states will still decide which vaccines children need for school.
Order Draws Criticism
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said the changes are intended to give parents more choice.
But the American Academy of Pediatrics called the move “dangerous.”
It warned that delaying shots could leave children vulnerable to diseases such as measles.
Even Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor who helped confirm Kennedy, criticised the order.
He said vaccines are “overwhelmingly safe” and “do not cause autism”.
The debate now goes beyond vaccines: how much should politics influence public-health decisions when the scientific evidence is already clear?
