WASHINGTON D.C.— On August 10, President Trump signed an Executive Order recognizing the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations. The recommended vaccine schedule has decreased from 18 in 2024 to 11 in 2026.
“The Order recommends separating the combined MMR vaccine into three single-disease shots and recommends administering all vaccines during separate medical visits to give parents more options regarding the timing and frequency of this vaccine administration,” The White House issued in a statement.
President Trump highlighted parental choice, directing Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the HHS Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines to improve vaccine research and offer options for American parents based on U.S. and international data.
The CDC’s immunization schedule decreased from the initial 23 vaccine doses in seven shots against seven different diseases in 1980, to 84 vaccine doses in 57 shots for 17 diseases in 2024. This does not include those antibody immunizations for RSV.
In February 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order implementing the Make America Healthy Again initiative, beginning with the youngest generation.
The Trump Administration ended the blanket recommendations for all children to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Ending unnecessary vaccines followed the May 2025 MAHA Commission to Make Our Children Healthy Again scientific assessment, leading to a strategy to reverse failed vaccine policies that negatively affected children.
In May, President Trump signed another Executive Order to realign the United States core vaccine recommendations with the best practices of our peer countries.
According to reports, as of 2026, no sovereign nation requires a general COVID-19 vaccine for entry at its borders. No country requires a chickenpox vaccine to cross its borders, but Canada does require proof of the chickenpox vaccine (Varicella) or the appropriate exemption paperwork upon entry into school. The Monkeypox Vaccine is not a requirement for travel.
“No country universally requires a measles vaccination certificate (or a mandatory border-entry check for MMR) as a formal legal condition for general international entry under International Health Regulations. However, public health agencies like the Pan American Health Organization strongly recommend being fully vaccinated before international travel due to ongoing global resurgences and outbreaks,” the PanAmerican Health Organization states.
According to Windermere Medical Group, no country requires proof of Hepatitis A or Hepatitis B for general entry for tourists. More stringent requirements and health screenings are required of individuals entering the country on a work visa.
As of July 2026, HPV is a vaccine required upon entry to Vietnam. There is no universal vaccine requirement for the flu or pneumonia (pneumococcal) vaccines.
