5 questions parents may have after Trump's latest vaccine move

A child is prepped to receive an MMR vaccine at Lurie Children’s Primary Care in Chicago.

Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

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Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune

/Getty Images

President Trump signed an executive order Monday related to childhood vaccines in an Oval Office ceremony, flanked by top health officials and a conservative commentator who talked about her child and her current pregnancy. Those attendees called the move “historic” and “a big deal.”

But what’s different today when it comes to childhood vaccine policy in the U.S.? Not much. There’s no new research, no new vaccines available and no immediate change to insurance coverage or school requirements.

And so far, pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Shu in Atlanta says parents in her practice aren’t asking her about what the executive order means for their kids.

“At the very beginning, when the administration started making changes, people were concerned about — gosh, are we no longer going to have access to certain vaccines?,” she says. “But I’m not hearing that anymore.”

She says since some of the biggest swings from the White House – including an effort to reduce the number of federally-recommended vaccines for children – were blocked by courts and never took effect, “I’m feeling like a lot of parents are kind of wanting to see what the final result is before they get too concerned.”

Still, the potential for confusion is real, she says. Here are the answers to five questions parents might be having about the executive order.

1. Are the same shots still available?

“Yes — as of right now, yes,” Shu says. All of the shots in the childhood vaccine schedule backed by pediatricians are still available.

The Trump administration has tried — first through a panel of hand-picked advisors and then unilaterally — to change the list and timing of these vaccines, but has not been successful so far. The new executive order calls for certain things to be researched and reports to be written, but it makes no immediate changes.

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