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State rejects Trump vaccine policy, will continue MMR rules

By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey will not adhere to President Donald Trump's new vaccine recommendations that split the measles, mumps and rubella shot into three separate doses, the state's top health official said on Tuesday August 18. [2026]
..... The Garden State will continue to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics' immunization schedules and state laws requires children to be vaccinated before entering day care centers or schools, said Health Commissioner Raynard Washington.
..... The stance continues New Jersey's opposition to the Trump administration's vaccine recommendations.
..... The state will instead develop its polices with other Northeast states, in a public rebuke to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., one of the country's most prominent vaccine critics. "Families deserve clear, science-based guidance, not confusion," Washington said in a statement.
..... "The evidence behind childhood vaccines is clear, it has not changed, and New Jersey will continue to make sure every family can access the vaccines that keep their children safe."
..... Trump's Executive Order 10 calls for "more vaccine flexibility and research." When signing the order on August 10, [2026] Trump called the one-shot MMR vaccine for Measles, mumps and rubella possibly "lethal,"but not when given separately. Decades of sue and research have determined that the MMR vaccine is safe. The order also recommends dropping the policy issued by Kennedy's agencies earlier this year. [2026] New Jersey was one of 15 states that sued Kennedy over the recommendations.
..... New Jersey's vaccination rate has fallen in recent years, to 91.8% in the 2024-2025 school year from 95.4% in 2017-2018, the Health Department reported.
,,,,, New Jersey law requires children to be vaccinated for school and day care, but parents can opt out by claiming a religious exemption, of which no proof is required. Religious exemptions have doubled in the past six years to 5% of all school age children.

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