With measles cases rising across the country, New York’s top health official on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s call to eventually administer measles, mumps and rubella vaccines separately rather than solely through the combined MMR vaccine, saying the change would provide no medical benefit and could confuse parents about childhood vaccination.
“This Executive Order doesn’t change New York State’s immunization requirements or recommendations,” state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement Tuesday afternoon responding to an executive order Trump signed Monday.
“To be clear: no new research was presented,” McDonald said. “Vaccines are the best protection for our children and under Governor Kathy Hochul, New York has the strongest public health standards in the country. With measles cases on the rise across the country, now is not the time to confuse the public.”
Trump’s executive order, titled “Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans,” which was signed Monday, does not recommend that children go without measles vaccination. It continues to recommend routine immunization against measles, mumps and rubella.
But the order calls for the three vaccines eventually to be administered separately rather than in the combined MMR shot once individual products are domestically available. It directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan within 90 days to make separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines available while maintaining access to combination vaccines.
The order also says childhood immunizations should, “to the maximum extent feasible,” be administered at separate medical visits.
The state health commissioner said there is no clinical reason to separate the MMR vaccine.
“The MMR vaccine has been protecting children for over 55 years,” he said. “Splitting it into three visits offers no clinical advantage and requires children to have more shots and parents to have more office visits while providing no additional medical benefit.”
“Here in New York, we will continue to be guided by the science,” McDonald said.
The dispute comes as pediatricians and public health officials are warning about increasing measles transmission in the United States and urging parents to make sure children receive recommended doses of the MMR vaccine.
The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend routine, on-time measles vaccination and has maintained its own childhood immunization schedule after recent changes to federal vaccine recommendations. The academy has warned that measles activity in the United States has reached a critical level and has urged parents whose children are not fully vaccinated to obtain recommended MMR doses.
Major Long Island health systems have also published guidance supporting routine childhood vaccination consistent with the position taken by the state Health Department.
Northwell Health, Stony Brook Medicine, NYU Langone Health and Catholic Health have each published information advising parents about the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines and the importance of vaccination against measles and other preventable diseases.
Stony Brook Medicine has been particularly outspoken about declining childhood vaccination rates and vaccine misinformation. In a report published earlier this year, Stony Brook physicians said vaccinations had declined at pediatric practices affiliated with Stony Brook Children’s Hospital and warned that lower vaccination rates increase the risk of outbreaks of diseases that had previously been brought under control.
Northwell Health has similarly published guidance from pediatric infectious disease specialists stressing the effectiveness of childhood vaccines and the importance of MMR vaccination as measles cases increase.
Catholic Health advises parents to follow recommended childhood immunization schedules and has published guidance specifically warning about the resurgence of measles. NYU Langone has also published information supporting established childhood vaccination schedules and has reported on recent changes in federal vaccine policy.
Trump’s order reaches beyond the MMR vaccine. It revises the federal approach to childhood vaccination by dividing vaccines into different categories, including those recommended routinely for all children, those recommended for children considered at higher risk and those subject to what the administration calls shared clinical decision-making.
Measles, mumps and rubella remain among the diseases for which the administration recommends routine vaccination.
The order also advises states to review their school vaccination requirements and directs the U.S. attorney general to support certain legal challenges to state vaccine laws involving parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations and other constitutional or statutory claims.
Those provisions do not alter New York’s existing school vaccination requirements.
New York requires children attending public, private and parochial schools and child care programs to receive vaccinations against a number of diseases, including measles, mumps and rubella. The state does not allow religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements.
McDonald said New York’s requirements and recommendations will remain in place despite the federal order.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
