Trump's order to split MMR vaccine draws pushback even from pharmaceutical industry
Trump's new executive order on vaccine policy, which calls for splitting the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot into three separate vaccines, has drawn sharp criticism not only from medical groups but also from the pharmaceutical industry itself. Critics say the requirement is scientifically baseless and impractical.
An executive order signed by Donald Trump on Monday, framed as a "gold standard" vaccine policy, has triggered swift and pointed backlash. Public health organizations and independent experts have described it as "dangerous," "unscientific" and "misleading," warning that it puts children's health at risk.
The reaction is not entirely unexpected, as medical and public health communities have long opposed vaccine policies pushed by Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has no background in science, medicine or public health. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which called the order "disheartening and dangerous," is already leading a lawsuit against earlier changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations. In March, the group and other medical organizations won a temporary injunction reversing most of those changes.
An unexpected industry backlash
Less expected has been the immediate pushback from the pharmaceutical industry itself. While the order's stated goal is to reduce the number of vaccines given to children, it paradoxically calls for splitting the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate shots. The MMR vaccine is currently given in two doses; splitting it would mean six injections instead of two.
More critically, individual vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella are not currently manufactured in the United States. Fulfilling the order would require pharmaceutical companies to make substantial investments in developing, testing and bringing entirely new vaccines to market — without any scientific justification, given that the existing combined MMR vaccine has decades of data showing it is safe, effective and convenient.
Within hours of the order being signed, PhRMA, the industry group representing major pharmaceutical companies including GSK, Sanofi, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Novo Nordisk, issued a statement saying the order undermines America's vaccine policy.
