Texas childhood vaccine requirements have not changed for the upcoming school year, but experts worry that conflicting federal guidance from the Trump administration could confuse parents and lead to lower vaccination rates.
President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order that calls for changes to some federal recommendations for childhood vaccines, including giving the measles, mumps and rubella shot in three separate doses once they’re available, and administering fewer vaccines during a single doctor’s visit.
Doctors and public health experts have pushed back on the recommendations, saying they are not based on scientific evidence. The American Academy of Pediatrics called the executive order “dangerous,” and said there is no evidence to justify changes to the existing childhood vaccine schedule.
READ MORE: Dr. Peter Hotez: Declining vaccination rates leave Texas vulnerable to measles, other diseases
The conflicting guidance from medical groups and the federal government could be confusing for parents who are trying to follow the best advice to keep children safe, said Rekha Lakshmanan, the executive director of the Texas nonprofit The Immunization Partnership. She also worries some of the recommendations could make it more burdensome for parents to fully vaccinate their children.
“It’s just continuing to add more chaos to the confusion that parents are already feeling,” she said.
Texas Children’s Hospital said in a statement that decades of scientific research and evidence have shown vaccines are safe and effective. The hospital said it would follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidance in recommending a complete childhood vaccine schedule.
“As a parent or caregiver, we want to support you in keeping your child healthy and protected,” Texas Children’s said in the statement. “Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to do that, helping prevent serious-sometimes deadly-diseases.”
Here’s what you need to know about the executive order and what it means for Texas families.
President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Associated Press)
What’s in the executive order?
The executive order recommends 11 vaccinations that have long been part of the childhood vaccine schedule. But it recommends administering them at separate appointments “to the maximum extent feasible.”
The order also recommends giving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations in three separate shots, rather than the combined MMR vaccine that has long been standard for children.
READ MORE: Texas health officials declare end to measles outbreak after 762 cases and 2 deaths
Doctors and public health experts have pushed back on the recommendation to administer the shots separately, noting that the MMR vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective.
“Today’s executive order is not based on ‘gold-standard science.’ There is no new evidence to justify significant changes to childhood immunization guidance,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a statement.
Trump’s order also recommends certain vaccines, such as the one for hepatitis B, only for children in unspecified “high-risk” groups. For other children, the hepatitis B shot and several other vaccines should be administered based on “shared clinical decision-making,” according to the order.
Experts have pushed back on the notion of “shared clinical decision-making,” noting that parents and guardians already consult with pediatricians on all aspects of their children’s medical care.
“Any time a parent goes to the pediatrician’s office with their child, there’s always a dialogue that happens between the family and the doctor,” Lakshmanan said.
Measles vaccinations offered by Harris Public Health are photographed on Saturday, April 5, 2025 in Houston. (Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer)
What the order means for families
Doctors and public health experts have said the recommendation for spacing out vaccinations could be burdensome for parents or guardians. It may be difficult for them to take more time off work or find transportation to travel to those additional appointments, said Kirstin Matthews, a science and technology policy fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
“It just seems to minimize what it really takes to be a working parent,” Matthews said.
Breaking up the MMR vaccine into three shots could also be more stressful for children who are afraid of needles, Matthews said.
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The order is the latest vaccine recommendation from the Trump administration that conflicts with guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, which continues to recommend the combined MMR vaccine, the hepatitis B shot and other immunizations.
That disparity could be confusing for parents or guardians who are trying to follow the best advice to protect their children, Lakshmanan said.
“It’s going to dissuade parents and make it more difficult for them to take their child to the doctor’s office to get them vaccinated,” she said.
What the order means for Texas
Texas, like all states, has the authority to set its own vaccine requirements for schoolchildren. The Texas Department of State Health Services’ current requirements largely mirror the recommendations from the CDC.
A DSHS spokesman said in an email Tuesday that the agency follows the direction of the Texas Legislature on immunization policy.
The current vaccine requirements are still in place for the upcoming school year, but public health experts said they are watching to see if the Texas Legislature will make any changes when the next legislative session convenes in January.
The Legislature has previously embraced policies that weaken vaccine mandates, including passing legislation last year that made it easier for parents to obtain nonmedical vaccine exemptions for schoolchildren.
Texas has seen a rise in vaccine exemptions in recent years that has coincided with a drop in vaccine coverage rates. If vaccinations continue to decline, it could lead to more outbreaks of infectious diseases in Texas and nationwide, Matthews said.
Last year’s measles outbreak in West Texas was the state’s largest in more than three decades, resulting in more than 750 cases and the deaths of two young girls.
“We’re going to see more and more of these outbreaks, and more and more deaths,” Matthews said.
Lakshmanan noted that Texas still has relatively high vaccination rates, with at least 92% of kindergartners and 7th graders being fully vaccinated before the start of the 2025-26 school year. Maintaining vaccination coverage will be crucial to avoiding outbreaks of infectious diseases, she said.
“If we have the opportunity to protect children from harm and to not make them suffer from these diseases that are easily preventable, then we want to take advantage of the full suite of tools that we can,” Lakshmanan said.
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This article originally published at What does Trump’s new childhood vaccine order mean for Texas families? Experts are worried..