Trump’s Vaccine Order Puts Kids’ Health at Risk

NEVADA - President Trump today signed an executive order narrowing the recommended childhood vaccine schedule, directing federal health officials to move away from combination shots and pull vaccines like RSV and Hepatitis A/B out of universal recommendation and into a “high-risk only” category. The order follows a January CDC push to cut the recommended childhood vaccination schedule for 11 diseases and runs counter to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which continues to recommend vaccinations against 18 childhood diseases. 

This Executive Order will make it harder for Nevada families to keep their kids protected and could accelerate the outbreaks of preventable disease in a state that already struggles with health care access. By breaking combination shots into multiple visits and removing vaccines from universal recommendations, the order adds new barriers for families who are already stretched thin. Nevada, with its shortage of pediatricians and large rural and underinsured population, will feel the strain more than most states. 

Shelbie Swartz, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, issued the following statement: 

“Turning a single well-established shot into three separate doctor visits isn’t science. It’s a wall between working families and the care their kids need. Not every parent can take three days off work, arrange three rounds of childcare, or find three open appointments with a pediatrician in a state that’s already short on them. Nevada families are doing everything right, and this administration is making it harder. Politics has no business standing between a child and a life-saving vaccine. 

Preventive medicine, such as vaccines, saves money because it is less expensive to prevent illness than to treat it. Changing vaccine schedules for political reasons risks raising health insurance copays, premiums, and healthcare costs overall by increasing the likelihood that kids suffer from severe illnesses. The last thing Nevada families need is increasing healthcare costs on top of rising gas, grocery, and housing costs. Governor Lombardo has been silent on this public health issue because he refuses to stand up to Trump. It is shameful that our governor won’t fight for our well-being and for our children’s health. Nevada deserves leaders who trust our doctors, not a White House that second-guesses them.”

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