Experts dispute CDC acting director’s call to breakup MMR vaccine

Pediatric experts disputed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jim O’Neil’s call for manufacturers to split apart the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three separate shots. O’Neil did not offer details on how or why manufacturers should split the shots. Experts said the combination MMR vaccine has been tested thoroughly and given safely to millions of children. Breaking the MMR vaccine into three vaccines would be more expensive for clinicians to buy and store and more complicated to administer. It would require parents to visit the doctor’s office more often and children to endure more shots, likely leading to reduced compliance and increased disease risk. Meanwhile, the CDC ended its universal recommendation for individuals to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which experts criticized. (MedPage Today article, 10/7/25)