Childhood vaccinations and autism: Trump’s campaign resumes, but Italia remains firm in its stance

“Decades ago, children were given only a small fraction of the vaccines that are required today. Back then, people were much healthier and, of course, there were none of the high rates of autism seen today. There is a reason for these epidemic rates of autism.” These words from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, were spoken in recent days during the signing of theexecutive order which provides for a review of recommendations on paediatric vaccines. These remarks echo a long-standing talking point of the US tycoon and, above all, of his Health Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr, who has in the past argued for a possible link between vaccinations and autism, despite there being no scientific evidence to support this.

Among the new recommendations contained in Trump’s executive order is a proposal to reduce the number of recommended vaccines for children from 17 to 11, but above all to administer the vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella should be administered in three separate doses rather than as a single dose. This US review comes just as Italian experts from the Higher Health Council have confirmed that paediatric vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox – that is, using the quadrivalent ‘MMRV’ vaccine – must remain compulsory.

 Trump’s executive order is set to radically change federal guidelines on vaccines administered to children and calls on states to review vaccination requirements for school attendance. The document, entitled “Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations”, sets out a new classification of paediatric vaccines into three categories: some recommended for everyone, others only for children considered to be at higher risk – such as vaccines against hepatitis A and B and meningococcal disease whilst for others, a discussion between parents and doctors is recommended prior to administration, as in the case of flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. It also instructs federal agencies to take measures to promote their use in accordance with the new guidelines. Among the proposals currently under consideration was also the move away from the practice of administering multiple vaccines during the same appointment. The text states instead that, “to the greatest extent possible”, vaccinations should be carried out during separate appointments. The measure also aims to separate the three components of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, a move long supported by the President. The combined vaccine should be replaced by three separate doses as soon as they become available in the United States. Experts have, however, emphasised that the vaccine is considered safe and effective and that splitting it up could leave children exposed to potentially dangerous diseases for longer. Several states have already announced that they do not intend to follow the federal recommendations, preferring those of the American Academy of Paediatrics and other leading medical organisations.

Meanwhile, nine years on from the passing of the Lorenzin Act – which mandated that children should also be vaccinated with the hexavalent vaccine (polio, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae), Italian experts have confirmed the need to keep paediatric vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox mandatory – that is, using the quadrivalent ‘MMRV’ vaccine, The recommendation came from the Higher Health Council (CSS), to which the Ministry of Health had submitted a query in December 2025. Now the offices of Minister Orazio Schillaci will have to give formal approval, through a special commission. And what about the alleged link between vaccines and autism, which has been repeatedly refuted by the scientific community? “There are over thirty studies confirming the absence of any cause-and-effect relationship between vaccination and autism,” emphasises Massimo Ciccozzi, an epidemiologist at the Campus Bio-Medico. “The ‘madman theory’ – as psychologists call it – which Trump applies in foreign policy and trade relations – ‘I’ll cause confusion so they’ll let me do what I want’ – is now being revived in the health sector too. But it’s one thing to play the stock market; it’s quite another to do so with people’s health.” Even the recommendation to split the trivalent vaccine into three injections, according to the epidemiologist, lacks any scientific basis. “In fact, they’re shooting themselves in the foot. If you use a trivalent vaccine, the dose of the drug injected is lower, because you’re giving a single injection for three different diseases. By administering it as three separate injections,” he concludes, “you’re administering a higher dose, which goes against what they’ve always claimed.”

According to the World Health Organisation, Donald Trump’s initiative to reform the childhood vaccination programme in the United States runs counter to “decades of scientific evidence”. According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, “data collected over decades have shown when children are most vulnerable to disease, when vaccines offer the greatest protection, how many doses are needed, and which vaccines can be safely administered at the same time. This data is constantly updated as new information emerges from around the world”. “And the evidence currently available,” adds the WHO Director-General, “is unequivocal. Vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, are safe and do not cause autism. Delaying vaccinations or unnecessarily spacing out doses does not make vaccination safer and can leave children unprotected. Policies in this area should be guided by a rigorous, independent and transparent review of the best available evidence, not by political influences.” It is no coincidence that Robert Kennedy Jr himself, the US Secretary of Health, in the face of a measles outbreak in several American states, urged the public to vaccinate their children