FACT FOCUS: Trump sows confusion on number of childhood vaccinations

President Donald Trump spread some confusion about childhood vaccinations in social media posts about changes to U.S. vaccine recommendations.

Trump’s administration on Monday took the unprecedented step of cutting the number of vaccines the government has long routinely recommended for all children. On that list are vaccines against 11 diseases. Additional vaccines that were once broadly recommended now are separately categorized for at-risk children or as available through “shared decision-making” with their doctor.

Leading medical groups are sticking with prior vaccine recommendations, saying there’s no new science to warrant a change — and they worry the conflicting advice will leave more children vulnerable to preventable illness or death.

On social media, Trump wrote that “America will no longer require 72 ‘jabs’” for children, and shared a misleading graphic comparing the U.S. to a “European country” that administered 11 “injections.”

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

CLAIM: In a social media post about changes to federal childhood vaccination recommendations, Trump shared a misleading graphic about vaccinations abroad and misstated vaccine requirements in the U.S.

THE FACTS: A year ago, the government’s childhood vaccination schedule recommended routine protection against 18 diseases. Doses were spread across different ages, based on carefully vetted scientific research about disease risk and vaccine protection.

How many separate injections that added up to between birth and age 18 varied. It depended on things like the brand used, the availability of combination shots and the child’s starting age. But unless you counted once-a-year flu vaccines (which some kids can get as a nasal spray) or COVID-19 shots, the number of injections was closer to three dozen.

That would drop to about 23 injections if children received only the recommended-for-all vaccinations on the administration’s new schedule. They include vaccines against diseases such as measles, whooping cough, polio, chickenpox and HPV, or the human papilloma virus.

Contrary to Trump’s claim, 72 injections were never “required,” as families could opt out. States do require children to get certain vaccines before enrolling in school. But the state lists’ of school shots were narrower than the prior U.S. vaccine schedule, and many states offer different types of exemptions.

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