WHO chief voices concern over Trump Administration’s executive order on vaccines

Wednesday, August 12, 2026UN NewsThe head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday upheld the safety of childhood vaccines in response to a new directive from the White House to overhaul the recommended inoculation schedule.On Monday, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order that calls for reducing the number of routine childhood immunizations from 18 to 11. The administration’s Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations also advocate for separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three single-disease shots that would be administered during separate medical appointments. The policy also aims to improve vaccine research and to maximise parental choice over which shots their children receive by ensuring state compliance with constitutional and federal statutory obligations regarding parental authority, religious freedom, accommodations for those with disabilities and equal protection under the law. Against ‘decades of evidence’WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a statement underscoring the critical role of vaccination for public health. He acknowledged that “every parent wants to keep their children safe, and v...