In the wake of President Donald Trump slashing the number of recommended childhood vaccinations and ordering the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to be split into standalone shots, Allegheny County Health Department urged parents to proceed with vaccinating their children.
In an Aug. 11 press release, Dr. Jillian Irwin, medical director and deputy director for clinical services at Allegheny County Health Department, said parents should not delay their children's recommended vaccinations because of Trump's Aug. 10 executive order.
"For families, the bottom line is unchanged: Talk with your child’s health care provider and follow the recommended childhood immunization schedule," Irwin said. "If your child is behind on vaccinations, it is not too
late to catch up."
What childhood vaccines are recommended in Pittsburgh area?
Allegheny County Health Department urged parents not to delay giving their children recommended vaccines, emphasizing the importance of immunizing children with the MMR vaccine.
"While the recent federal announcement calls for exploring separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, single-antigen measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are not available in the United States," Irwin said. "Families should not wait for a hypothetical future vaccine option when the MMR vaccine is available and has a long history of protecting children."
Trump orders MMR to be split, cuts number of recommended childhood vaccines
Trump's executive order calls for the MMR vaccine to be split into three individual vaccinations to be delivered at separate medical visits.
"You have the MMR, we want it in three separate vaccinations, given at separate times. Together there could be a possibility they're quite lethal and separately, it looks like they are not at all lethal, but just very effective," Trump said from the Oval Office as he signed the order.
The MMR vaccine is not lethal and is highly effective in preventing measles. One dose of the vaccine is 93% effective against measles, while two doses are 97% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control. For most people, the vaccine provides lifelong protection.
Standalone measles, mumps or rubella vaccines are not currently produced for use in the United States, and medical research shows no health benefit or reduced risk from separating the shots. Instead, experts say that upping the number of shots increases injection pain, leaves children unprotected longer and lowers overall vaccination rates.
The executive order also cuts the number of childhood vaccines to 11 and called for further vaccine safety research.
How many measles cases have there been in Pennsylvania this year?
There have been 232 reported cases of measles in Pennsylvania as of Aug. 10, the last day Pennsylvania Department of Health's dashboard was updated. Thirty-eight people have been hospitalized. All cases were among people who were not fully vaccinated.
Irwin urged parents to vaccinate their children against measles as the disease continues spreading throughout the country.
"Measles is not an abstract or distant threat," Irwin said. "It is at our doorstep, and vaccination is the best way to protect children and prevent outbreaks in our community."
Allegheny County had not had any reported cases of measles as of Aug. 10, according to the state department of health. The majority of cases have been reported in Lancaster, which has had 133 reported cases this year.
There have been 2,487 doses of the MMR vaccine administered in Pennsylvania this year.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Sara Moniuszko contributed to this report.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Trump's vaccine executive order means for Pittsburgh parents
