El Ciudadano
Original article: Cambios en el calendario de vacunación infantil en EEUU: Experto de la U. de Chile advierte por consecuencias globales
Vaccines represent a remarkable triumph in modern medicine, saving countless lives each year and transforming global health by controlling diseases that were once fatal. They safely train the immune system.
Consequently, the Trump administration’s decision in the U.S. to alter the childhood vaccination schedule has raised concerns about its potential repercussions both domestically and internationally.
The new policy introduced by Trump decreases the number of diseases included in the immunization recommendations for all children from 18 to 11 and gives more prominence to family decision-making.
Additionally, it proposes separating the combined vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella—commonly known as the MMR vaccine—into three separate injections, once monovalent vaccines are available in the United States.
While these illnesses remain part of the overall recommendations, experts warn that fragmenting the vaccination schedule could hinder compliance.
In this context, Dr. Jorge Ramírez Flores, a faculty member of the Global Health Program at the University of Chile, explains that the consequences of these decisions may extend beyond U.S. borders.
«Global health aims to understand the causes of problems that transcend national boundaries,» emphasized the academic, who identified three dimensions that illustrate how a policy enacted in the U.S. could impact Chile.
The first is international mobility and the speed with which infectious diseases can spread across territories. «People move significantly more, and much faster than before,» notes Ramírez.
According to the specialist, changes in strategies to combat infectious diseases could alter their epidemiological behavior. «For example, a decrease in vaccination coverage could lead to an increase in previously controlled diseases or the re-emergence of others considered eradicated under specific technical criteria,» he warns.
The second dimension involves the tension between individual freedom and the common good. The U.S. policy seeks to expand parental decision-making regarding their children’s vaccinations, which becomes complex when it concerns minors who cannot make decisions for themselves.
«There are situations where the welfare of minors must be prioritized over parental authority in making vaccination decisions,» Dr. Ramírez explained, emphasizing that «most countries have reasonably resolved this issue in favor of public health strategies.»
The third factor is the political and symbolic influence of the U.S., particularly how countries with fewer resources or technical capabilities for establishing vaccination schedules, acquiring vaccines, and running educational campaigns might view this decision as a model, despite their differing epidemiological realities.
Anti-Vaccine Movement
This change occurs within a context marked by claims linking vaccines to autism, a connection that the academic from the University of Chile notes lacks scientific evidence. «There is no support for a causal relationship. No evidence exists to back this association,» he states.
The specialist stressed that attempts to establish this link have been discredited through various scientific mechanisms. However, he warns that misinformation can linger in the collective consciousness when propagated by an authority figure like Trump.
«It causes significant harm because it easily undermines what has been built over many resources and time,» the expert argues.
What can be done to counter this misinformation? According to the educator, institutions must maintain communication that is «firm and coherent, facilitate access to knowledge, and provide tools for individuals to critically assess the information they receive.»
Measles Concerns
Regarding the importance of having proper vaccination calendars, the doctor clarifies that these are reviewed and updated and can change in response to the emergence of new vaccines, the development of more effective or safer formulations, and changes in disease behavior.
The emergence or resurgence of diseases, variations in their frequency, and evidence obtained through clinical and observational studies are some of the factors that inform decisions about which vaccines to include and the number of doses. These decisions, the national researcher stressed, must be based on technical and epidemiological criteria.
In this context, one of the major current concerns is measles.
As of August 13, 2026, the U.S. reported 2,566 confirmed cases and 38 outbreaks during the year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Meanwhile, the coverage of the MMR vaccine among kindergarten students has fallen from 95.2% in the 2019-2020 period to 92.4% during 2025-2026.
«Measles is one of the most concerning contagious diseases given these changes in scheduling and dosage,» highlighted Dr. Jorge Ramírez, who reiterated that anti-vaccine movements have already created communities with lower immunization rates in the U.S.
«When the virus enters these groups, it can trigger outbreaks of a disease that is controlled in areas with adequate coverage,» he warned.
In Chile, there have been no reported native cases of measles since 1993, although imported cases have been confirmed in 2026 without secondary transmission. In light of this scenario, the academic stated that the country must bolster its population’s protection.
«The primary safeguard, in simple terms, that a country like Chile could implement is to ensure adequate vaccination rates and coverage of vaccines overall, particularly for the measles vaccine,» concluded Professor Jorge Ramírez.
We will continue to provide updates.
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