Health officials warn that separating the shots could delay vaccinations<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 The acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is calling on vaccine makers to create separate measles<\/a>, mumps and rubella (MMR) shots, though public health experts say there\u2019s no scientific reason to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cI call on vaccine manufacturers to develop safe monovalent vaccines to replace the combined MMR and \u2018break up the MMR shot into three total separate shots\u2019,\u201d Jim O\u2019Neill<\/a>, who is also deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), wrote Monday on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n His post echoed a Sept. 26 post<\/a> from President Donald Trump<\/a>, who has also called for dividing up the combination vaccine.<\/p>\n The MMR vaccine has been given as a combo in the U.S. since 1971. The CDC\u2019s website says there is \u201cno published scientific evidence\u201d showing any benefit to separating it.<\/p>\n Separating the MMR vaccine into three shots would \u201cnot make that vaccine safer,\u201d Dr. Paul Offit<\/a>, a vaccine expert at Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN. <\/em>\u201cIt would just make it more expensive and less likely to be used.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Merck<\/a>, which manufactures one of the two approved MMR vaccines in the U.S., said combination vaccines are designed to meet public health needs by protecting against multiple diseases with fewer injections.<\/p>\n \u201cUse of the individual components of combination vaccines increases the number of injections for the individual and may result in delayed or missed immunizations,\u201d the spokesperson told CNN.<\/em><\/p>\n GSK<\/a>, the other approved MMR vaccine maker, agreed. <\/p>\n \u201cCombination vaccines play a crucial role in improving vaccination coverage rates; their safety and efficacy have been demonstrated by decades of research,” GSK said in a statement. “By reducing the number of separate injections required, combination vaccines allow for a simpler and more efficient immunization process, which is essential for timely protection against disease.”<\/p>\n The idea of splitting up the MMR vaccine isn’t new. It gained attention in the late 1990s after a now-retracted paper suggested a link between the MMR shot and autism.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the claim was discredited, researchers took it seriously, investigated it thoroughly, and found no link,\u201d the American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a> (AAP) said. \u201cThis research, in many countries, involving thousands of individuals, has spanned multiple decades.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite this, Trump emphasized his call for separate doses last month during a White House event about autism, saying, \u201cthe MMR, I think, should be taken separately. This is based on what I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n The CDC continues to recommend two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at around age 1 and the second between ages 4 and 6. The agency also notes that combo vaccines are safe and help prevent delays in immunization.<\/p>\n While the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is sometimes given as a combination with MMR, CDC guidance recommends giving the first doses separately for children under 4 due to a small risk of febrile seizures. However, the combination is still considered safe for older children.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has more on measles, mumps and rubella<\/a>.<\/p>\n