Governor Kotek says “President Trump is playing politics with something that should never be political” after Oregon rejects changes to childhood vaccine schedule

Oregon – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek criticized President Donald Trump’s latest actions on childhood vaccines, saying vaccine policy should be guided by medical and public health professionals rather than politics.

“President Trump is playing politics with something that should never be political: keeping children healthy and protecting families from preventable disease,” Kotek said. “I trust medical and public health professionals to provide guidance to parents about vaccines.”

Her comments came after Trump signed an executive order seeking changes to the federal childhood vaccine recommendations. Oregon officials subsequently said the state would continue recommending its existing childhood vaccine schedule despite the president’s order.

The executive order, signed Aug. 10, directed federal health officials to pursue changes to the childhood vaccination schedule, including reducing the number of vaccines recommended for all children and changing how some vaccines are administered. Among the changes was a recommendation to separate the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine into individual shots, according to the state officials.

The order also called for certain vaccines to be moved away from recommendations applying broadly to all children and toward categories involving higher-risk children or shared decision-making between parents and health care providers. Reuters reported that the order sought to reduce the number of routine childhood vaccinations recommended at the federal level from 18 to 11.

Oregon’s response was different.

The Oregon Health Authority said the state, along with the other members of the West Coast Health Alliance, would continue to stand behind evidence-based childhood immunizations. Kotek’s Aug. 14 statement came as Oregon officials emphasized that the state’s recommendations had not changed following Trump’s executive order, Statesman Journal reported.

Local health officials also maintained the existing recommendations. KLCC reported that Lane County’s childhood vaccine recommendations remained unchanged after Trump’s order.

The disagreement reflects a broader divide between the Trump administration’s approach to childhood vaccination and state and medical organizations that continue to support the established schedule.

The executive order has drawn criticism from medical professionals and public health organizations. Reuters reported that groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America opposed the changes, warning that they could create confusion and increase the risk of preventable illnesses.

The Associated Press also reported that medical experts pushed back against claims made by Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while discussing the order, including renewed suggestions of a connection between vaccines and autism. Experts have repeatedly said scientific evidence does not support such a connection.

The order’s recommendation concerning the MMR vaccine has also received scrutiny. Trump called for the combined vaccine to be separated into individual measles, mumps and rubella shots, although the individual vaccines are not currently available in the United States. Medical experts have questioned the clinical benefit of separating the vaccines and warned that additional appointments could make it harder for children to receive timely protection.

Oregon has previously taken a different approach from the Trump administration on vaccine policy. Kotek joined California and Washington in forming the West Coast Health Alliance in 2025 as the states sought to coordinate vaccine recommendations amid changes at the federal level. The alliance has continued to emphasize recommendations based on scientific and public health guidance.

Kotek’s latest comments therefore reinforced Oregon’s position that parents should continue to receive vaccine guidance from medical and public health professionals.

“Keeping children healthy and protecting families from preventable disease” should not be a political issue, Kotek said, making clear that Oregon would continue relying on its existing recommendations despite the federal changes proposed by Trump.

For Oregon families, the state’s position means the existing childhood vaccine recommendations remain in place. State and local health officials have not adopted the changes outlined in Trump’s executive order, while the debate over federal vaccine policy continues.