The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday upheld the safety of childhood vaccines in response to a new directive from the White House to overhaul the recommended inoculation schedule.
On Monday, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order that calls for reducing the number of routine childhood immunizations from 18 to 11.
The administration's Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations also advocate for separating the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three single-disease shots that would be administered during separate medical appointments.
The policy also aims to improve vaccine research and to maximise parental choice over which shots their children receive by ensuring state compliance with constitutional and federal statutory obligations regarding parental authority, religious freedom, accommodations for those with disabilities and equal protection under the law.
Against 'decades of evidence'
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a statement underscoring the critical role of vaccination for public health.
He acknowledged that "every parent wants to keep their children safe, and vaccines are among the most powerful tools for doing that, making deadly diseases preventable."
He said WHO was concerned that the changes "are not aligned with decades of evidence" on when best to immunize children, how many doses are needed, and which vaccines can be administered together safely.
This evidence is also reviewed continuously as new data emerge from across the world.
No autism connection
"The current evidence is unequivocal: vaccines - including the MMR vaccine - are safe and do not cause autism," he said.
Moreover, "delaying vaccines or separating doses unnecessarily does not make vaccination safer and can leave children unprotected." he added.
Tedros said "global evidence and recommendations, including from WHO" inform national experts to determine which vaccines and schedules are best for their country.
He stressed that "vaccination policy should be guided by rigorous, independent and transparent review of the best available science, not by political influence."
