Trump wants some childhood vaccines split into five doses
US President Donald Trump said on Friday September 18, 2026, that his administration plans to recommend that vaccine makers split certain childhood vaccines into five smaller doses given six months apart, which he expects to sharply reduce autism. He did not name the vaccines or cite evidence.
September 21, 2026
Trump spoke at an Oval Office healthcare event, describing what he called 20% doses, numbered one to five. He said some vaccines had been removed from the schedule because they are not needed until children are older.
In an executive order signed on August 10, Trump recommended immunisation against 11 diseases, down from 18 recommended by the CDC in 2024, according to the White House. The order also recommends splitting the combined MMR vaccine into three single-disease shots and giving vaccines at separate medical visits. A federal judge in Boston ruled in March that earlier CDC schedule changes, which drew on a comparison with peer countries including Denmark, had not followed proper administrative procedures.
On MMR vaccination and autism, researchers at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut studied 657,461 children in a nationwide cohort, published in Annals of Internal Medicine in 2019. The authors concluded that the study “strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism.”
Nordic Life Science previously reported that in August 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the termination of 22 mRNA vaccine development investments under BARDA.
USA: USD 500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine contracts canceled
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the cancellation of contracts and grants earmarked for the development of mRNA vaccines.
Source: The White House, President Trump Makes an Announcement on Healthcare, 18 September 2026 · The White House, fact sheet on the 10 August executive order
Published: September 21, 2026
