‘Make American children dead again’: Internet blasts at Trump over his child vaccine policy

US President Donald Trump has announced a major shift in the country’s childhood vaccination policy, moving away from universal federal recommendations for some vaccines, including hepatitis B, COVID-19 and influenza. The changes were outlined in an executive order signed by Trump on August 10 as his administration seeks to overhaul the US childhood immunisation schedule and give parents and doctors a greater role in deciding when certain vaccines should be administered.

Under the revised approach, the federal government is moving towards a schedule centred on 11 core childhood vaccines. Vaccines such as hepatitis B and influenza are being moved away from universal recommendations towards approaches based on individual risk and shared decision-making between families and healthcare providers.

The administration has argued that the changes will give parents greater choice and bring US vaccination recommendations closer to those followed in other developed countries.

Trump’s order also calls for changes to the way some vaccines are administered. It seeks to separate the combined measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine into individual shots and spread them across different visits.

US President Donald Trump has announced a major shift in the country’s childhood vaccination policy, moving away from universal federal recommendations for some vaccines, including hepatitis B, COVID-19 and influenza. The changes were outlined in an executive order signed by Trump on August 10 as his administration seeks to overhaul the US childhood immunisation schedule and give parents and doctors a greater role in deciding when certain vaccines should be administered.

Under the revised approach, the federal government is moving towards a schedule centred on 11 core childhood vaccines. Vaccines such as hepatitis B and influenza are being moved away from universal recommendations towards approaches based on individual risk and shared decision-making between families and healthcare providers.

The administration has argued that the changes will give parents greater choice and bring US vaccination recommendations closer to those followed in other developed countries.

Trump’s order also calls for changes to the way some vaccines are administered. It seeks to separate the combined measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine into individual shots and spread them across different visits.

The internet can’t keep calm

The policy has sparked a strong reaction online, with critics questioning whether the changes could reduce children’s protection against vaccine-preventable diseases. One commenter sarcastically wrote, “BREAKING: I have personally solved the vaccine crisis,” before criticising the administration’s approach to medical decision-making.

Another described the move as “absurd”, arguing that “politically driven health policy is very dangerous”.

Some users raised specific concerns about the decision involving hepatitis B vaccination. One commenter pointed to the risk of transmission from an infected mother to a newborn, saying such transmission “carries a high risk of chronic infection” and arguing that preventing it remains an important reason for vaccination soon after birth.

Another user criticised the administration more broadly, writing, “Yeah… I’m gonna continue listening to the real doctors and not a single person in this administration.”