On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump announced he would demand that drug companies split combined vaccines into five doses administered over six-month intervals, claiming this would reduce autism rates. This statement repeats debunked misinformation linking vaccines to autism. Trump's remarks came one day after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told an anti-vaccine group he founded that they have a 'friend at the White House.' Trump also referenced a prior executive order splitting the MMR vaccine.
Trump vaccine-splitting demand
- ▪On September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump stated in the Oval Office that he would demand drug companies split combined vaccines into five doses given at six-month intervals.
- ▪President Donald Trump suggested on September 18, 2026, that drug companies should limit shots to "20%" of their doses, requiring children to receive up to five injections of a single vaccine over time.
- ▪In August 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order recommending fewer pediatric vaccines and calling for the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine to be split into three separate shots.
- ▪President Donald Trump announced on September 18, 2026, that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz would make a forthcoming health-related announcement.
Debunked vaccine-autism claim
- ▪President Donald Trump's assertion that splitting vaccines would reduce autism rates repeats debunked medical misinformation linking pediatric vaccines to autism.
- ▪During an Oval Office event on September 18, 2026, President Donald Trump claimed that splitting up combined vaccines would result in a "massive reduction in autism" rates.
Kennedy anti-vaccine advocacy
- ▪On September 17, 2026, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told attendees of an anti-vaccine conference that they have a "friend at the White House."
- ▪Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered his remarks on September 17, 2026, to a conference held by an anti-vaccine group that Kennedy himself founded.
Debatable claims
- ▪The US government should require drug companies to split combined vaccines
- ▪The routine childhood vaccination schedule should be reduced
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