(WASHINGTON).- U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order this Monday introducing new recommendations aimed at spacing out the administration of childhood vaccines. The decree seeks for the MMR triple vaccine to no longer be administered in a single combined injection but instead in three separate injections, a format that is currently not available in the country. The American leader even stated this afternoon from the Oval Office that one-year-old children should receive their vaccines separately over five different visits, although it was unclear whether he was referring to all the vaccines they receive or some specific ones. President Donald Trump, on the left, shakes hands with Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a meeting to sign an executive order on vaccines Jacquelyn Martin - AP Driven by Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—known for his anti-vaccine stance—the initiative seeks for states and territories to review their school enrollment requirements. The resolution raised alarms in the medical community over the danger of leaving minors unprotected against preventable diseases. Public health experts argued that spacing out injections as Trump suggests could increase the risk of children contracting a vaccine-preventable disease before returning for another visit. Furthermore, the executive order conflicts with legal limits because the federal government cannot impose this schedule over state legislation. Public health experts oppose spacing out injections Last December, Trump ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review how peer nations approach vaccination recommendations and to consider revising U.S. guidelines accordingly. The department responded with a reduction in the number of vaccines recommended for each child, a measure that has since been blocked in courts. Vaccines and autism Trump’s decision to order the spacing of childhood vaccines is based on a combination of personal beliefs and a political shift promoted alongside his Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both repeatedly expressed their belief that administering multiple vaccines together is linked to an increase in autism diagnoses. However, there are no conclusive studies on that link. Trump associates vaccines with increased autism New Africa - Shutterstock “Decades ago, children received only a small fraction of the vaccines needed today,” Trump stated this Monday. “Back then, people enjoyed much better health and, of course, there were no high rates of autism observed today,” he added. And he concluded: “We are reducing them. It’s not just about administering fewer vaccines or injections, but about doing so over a series of doctor visits.” The U.S. government modified the federal childhood vaccination schedule earlier this year. The reform reduced the suggested number of pediatric vaccines from 17 to 11 for the entire child population. With information from AFP Donald Trump United States Health