The Illinois Department of Public Health says the state will continue following childhood vaccination recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics rather than newly announced federal guidelines.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday calling for changes to the federal childhood vaccine schedule, including separating the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into three individual shots and limiting recommendations for several other vaccines to certain high-risk groups or shared decision-making between families and health care providers.
Governor JB Pritzker criticized the order, saying it does not override decades of scientific research supporting childhood vaccinations. Illinois' Immunization Advisory Committee unanimously adopted the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations earlier this year. Those guidelines call for routine childhood vaccinations including hepatitis A and B, MMR, flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
State health officials said they are particularly concerned about separating the MMR vaccine into multiple visits, noting that delaying doses could leave children vulnerable to preventable diseases.
States retain the authority to establish vaccination requirements for school attendance.