President Trump issued an executive order with recommendations for childhood vaccine schedules, including that the MMR vaccine be “broken up” into multiple vaccines. CIDRAP has the news.

Breaking up the MMR vaccine would require more visits and shots, and there is no data that suggests doing so would be beneficial. It would, however, increase the risk of infection or lead to kids missing doses while also adding to overall cost. It would also require buy-in from pharmaceutical manufacturers to make three separate vaccines.

At the signing, HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once again repeated a debunked falsehood that vaccinations are probably associated with autism. Studies continue to roll out that find no link. Trump also repeated that the U.S. recommends more immunizations than peer nations, which is not entirely true.

At least 23 states have said that they plan to follow the AAP’s vaccine recommendations over Trump’s. The executive order advises states and territories to consider updating their vaccine laws and regulations and directs the attorney general to take legal action against states with laws that violate religious freedom, disability accommodations, or parental authority. However, public health experts believe this order will simply cause more confusion for parents, both in terms of what is best for their children and what is best for them financially.