The Kansas City Health Department said at a press conference Friday morning that this week's executive order revising federal vaccine policies does not immediately change vaccination requirements for state or local schools.
This means the Kansas City Health Department will continue to provide routine childhood vaccines, including those required for school.
“Those things are still set at the state level and the school districts,” said Director Dr. Marvia Jones of the Kansas City Health Department in the Aug. 14 press conference. “Insurance providers continue to cover the standard vaccination schedule.”
On Aug. 10, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that significantly revises the federal vaccine policy. It reduces the recommended childhood vaccination schedule from 17 to 11 and challenges state laws on religious exemptions to school entry requirements.
The order also wants to replace the combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, called MMR, into “three separate single-disease shots.”
Lauren Grimes, the director of nursing services with Kansas City Public Schools, said she sent in a notice to parents on Aug. 13, stating that Kansas City Public Schools still follow the state required immunizations.
Spokesperson Jill Bronaugh of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment also stated they would not revise its vaccine schedule to follow the executive order, as reported by the Kansas Reflector.
‘No scientific evidence’
In signing the executive order, Trump also claimed during the Oval Office press conference that the increase in children's vaccinations is linked to high rates of autism diagnoses.
Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Susanne Luedtke of University Health stresses that there is no evidence linking vaccines and autism, including the MMR vaccine, and that large-scale studies involving millions of children have already disproven this claim.
“There is no scientific evidence that separating these vaccines would make them safer, improve how they work, or reduce the risk of autism,” Luedtke said. “It would, however, mean more injections and more medical visits. That could mean more pain, more stress for children, more missed work and travel for parents, and possibly greater costs.”
Luedtke said that separating the MMR vaccine would also increase risks for children to miss a dose, leaving them without full protection against measles, mumps, and rubella in the long term.
“I cannot support recommendations that go against the evidence and make it harder for families to vaccinate their children,” Luedtke said.
She added that Trump’s claims that children in the United States receive substantially more vaccines than children in Europe are also misleading.
“Europe does not have a fixed vaccine schedule,” Luedtke said. “Many European countries give children the same vaccines to protect them from serious diseases as the children here in the United States receive. They also use combination vaccines, so children need fewer vaccines, fewer injections ... and fewer medical visits.”
‘Expanding access’
Luedtke said the Kansas City Health Department is working to expand appointment access for parents as the school year kicks in, offering extended clinic hours and walk-in appointments.
Jones added that their health department accepts insurance, stating that one in two people receive free vaccinations nationwide.
For families concerned or confused about children's vaccinations, Jones recommends utilizing the Kansas City Health Department website or the American Academy of Pediatrics website for further medical information.
The current Kansas City Health Department Immunization Clinic hours are as follows:
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
- 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday
- 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday (Children's Immunization Clinic)
Call the Kansas City Health Department at (816) 513-6008 to book an appointment. The website states that while walk-ins are available during clinic hours, they are not guaranteed.
