President Trump signed a new Executive Order today, moving federal vaccine policy toward greater parental choice, informed consent, vaccine safety, and flexibility. That’s progress we welcome.
But the EO does not change the Texas laws that allow certain Texans to be subjected to vaccine mandates, nor does it eliminate state-level vaccine requirements.
Federal policy can move in the right direction, but Texas law still needs to change. Until every Texan has the freedom to make informed medical decisions without facing discrimination or losing access to education and employment, we have work to do.
Here’s what the EO actually does and does not do, and why we must keep fighting for medical freedom in Texas:
- Creates a new federal “Gold Standard” vaccine framework with three categories:
- Recommended for all children: measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (Gardasil), and varicella (chickenpox)
- Recommended for certain high-risk groups: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) monoclonal antibodies, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal B, meningococcal ACWY, and dengue
- Recommended through shared clinical decision-making: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, influenza, and COVID-19
- Calls for MMR to eventually be offered as three separate vaccines as well as maintaining access to one combination product.
- Directs HHS to reassess vaccine timing and sequencing and adjust the federal childhood/adolescent schedule accordingly to the extent allowable.
- Directs research into alternatives to aluminum adjuvants and ongoing evaluation of vaccine safety and risk-benefit profiles.
- Requires HHS to improve vaccine safety monitoring, transparency, and research, with plans due to the President within 90 days.
- Encourages states to review and realign school vaccine laws.
- Threatens legal action against the four states (not Texas) that do not allow religious exemptions for school enrollment.
- Does not eliminate state vaccine mandates or create a new enforceable right to an exemption.
- Does not change the CDC Schedule, as all federal changes remain in litigation due to Judge Murphy’s judicial stay from March.
- Does not include a table of ages, list of primary doses versus boosters, or a total number of shots/doses for the 11 diseases in the “recommended for all children” category.
In summary, this Executive Order, which does not bypass the March judicial stay, is better understood as a “policy declaration,” urging states to align their school vaccine requirements to this new framework.
Texas is already ahead of this framework. Texas enrollment guidelines do not include vaccines for RSV, influenza, rotavirus, or COVID-19. And, while the EO places HPV vaccination (Gardasil) among the vaccines recommended for all children, Texas does not require it for school enrollment.
Important Reminders: Chasing an ever-changing federal vaccine schedule is not TFVC’s focus. Our focus is ensuring every Texan has the legal right to say no to any vaccine at any time, regardless of which vaccines appear on the schedule or shifting political winds.
Any call for Texas to codify these federal recommendations reflects a misunderstanding of both the EO and Texas vaccine policy.
