TPA Slams White House Order Splitting Childhood Vaccines

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the White House announced a new executive order (EO) that would overhaul the federal childhood immunization schedule. Among its provisions, the EO pushes to break up the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shot into three standalone doses given at separate appointments.

In response to the release of the EO, Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following statement:

“Once again, the federal government is trying to insert itself between millions of patients and lifesaving vaccines. While it may sound tempting or intuitive to space out childhood vaccines, separating out the combined MMR vaccine into individual components increases the length of time children remain unprotected during their most vulnerable developmental months. Delaying protections for the most vulnerable children is a recipe for preventable suffering. Further, single-antigen vaccines for mumps and rubella are no longer manufactured or available in the U.S., making attempts to split the dose logistically complex and practically impossible. Requiring multiple doctor visits instead of a single injection also increases healthcare costs and barriers, leading to higher rates of delayed doses or missed immunizations altogether.

“Despite the branding, these changes are more than just altered ‘recommendations.’ For starters, any president’s recommendation or executive order carries immense weight with agency heads and citizens. Changing the schedule also has profound legal consequences, exposing vaccine manufacturers to runaway litigation and threatening access to lifesaving products for millions of Americans. Whether a vaccine is on or off the childhood vaccine schedule directly impacts its exposure to oft-frivolous litigation.

“In a perfect world, federal vaccine recommendations wouldn’t be so important in determining which vaccines will be sued out of existence. But because the childhood vaccine schedule is such an important gatekeeper of patient choice, policymakers should do everything in their power to maintain patient access and choice. It is time to finally move away from the irresponsible Make America Healthy Again movement’s anti-vaccine hysterics.”

A recent poll conducted by Echelon Insights and released by TPA highlighted that Americans want continued access to vaccines and vaccine recommendations free from political influence – with 91% saying it is important that families retain access to safe, FDA-approved vaccines

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.