The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has publicly criticized United States President Donald Trump’s recent executive order aimed at overhauling the US childhood vaccination schedule. The order, signed on Monday, reduces the number of routine childhood immunizations from 18 to 11 and calls for separating the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate doses.

Tedros expressed concern that these changes are "not aligned with decades of evidence" regarding the timing, dosage, and combination of vaccines. He emphasized that "vaccination policy should be guided by rigorous, independent and transparent review of the best available science, not by political influence," adding that "that evidence is reviewed continuously as new data emerge from across the globe."

Addressing misinformation, Tedros stated unequivocally that "vaccines including the MMR vaccine are safe and do not cause autism," countering claims promoted by Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long suggested a disproven link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

The Trump administration’s new "Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations" also aim to enhance vaccine research and maximize parental choice, ensuring compliance with constitutional and federal laws concerning parental authority, religious freedom, and accommodations for disabilities.

The WHO chief highlighted that global evidence and WHO recommendations inform national experts in determining the best vaccines and schedules for their countries. This statement comes amid rising measles cases in the US, which have already surpassed the total recorded in 2025.

Sources