Summary:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Trump\u2019s order calls for separate measles<\/a>, mumps<\/a> and rubella<\/a> shots, but those vaccines<\/a> aren\u2019t currently licensed in the U.S.\n<\/p>\n \u2013 Vaccine makers say developing and approving individual shots could take years, if they decide to pursue them.<\/p>\n \u2013 Experts warn the policy could increase vaccine hesitancy and make it harder for children to receive timely protection.\n<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s order directing Americans to receive separate measles, mumps and rubella\u00a0vaccines faces an immediate obstacle: none of the individual shots are licensed in the United States, and experts say it could take years before any become available, if they ever do.\n<\/p>\n Two manufacturers \u2013 Merck & Co and GSK<\/a> \u2013 are licensed to make combined measles, mumps and rubella shots for patients in the United States. Single disease shots for these diseases have not been available in the U.S. since Merck stopped making them in 2008. They are not routinely used in most other countries.<\/p>\n Merck and GSK said in statements there is no published scientific evidence supporting the separation of the\u00a0vaccines and decades of evidence supporting the safety of their combined shots.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEven under current expedited review pathways, it could take years \u2013 potentially as many as 10 \u2013 to meet the safety and efficacy requirements to obtain FDA<\/a> approval and then begin manufacturing and commercialization\u201d of single disease shots, Merck said.\n<\/p>\n Trump signed the executive order on Monday calling for fewer childhood \u200bvaccinations, which he said would give U.S. children \u201cgold-standard\u201d protection. According to the order, \u201cthe combined measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)\u00a0vaccine\u00a0should be administered in three separate single-disease shots once such products are domestically available.\u201d\n<\/p>\n At a press conference on Monday, Trump suggested that\u00a0vaccines cause autism, despite a lack of scientific evidence that there is a link. Some public health<\/a> experts said the order could increase\u00a0vaccine\u00a0hesitancy, exposing more children to vaccine-preventable\u00a0illnesses.\n<\/p>\n