What parents should know about vaccines this school year | Dr. Jerome Adams

A lot of parents are asking about vaccines for their school children this fall. 

I get it. I'm a father of three. I'm a doctor. And I've spent my career working at the intersection of public health and daily reality – as Indiana's state health commissioner, as the nation's 20th surgeon general, and now as someone who still regularly talks to parents, pediatricians and pharmacists.

I understand how confusing this moment feels.

Right as families were preparing for meet-the-teacher days and school forms in August, the president signed an executive order targeting childhood vaccines. The order instructs children to receive fewer vaccines, urges states to reconsider school requirements, directs the Justice Department to sue states that don't provide religious and medical exemptions, and calls for the measles, mumps and rubella shot to be split into three separate injections.

In practice, three shots instead of one would mean three visits instead of one. More copays. More time off work. More confusion. More chances a child never finishes the series and gains the protection that has kept infectious disease at bay for decades.

The good news?

The order does not actually remove the MMR vaccine from the U.S. market. It does not immediately override what your pediatrician recommends. It does not, by itself, change what vaccines your child's doctor can administer. And it does not end free vaccination through the Vaccines for Children program, which by law follows the Centers for Disease Control's advisory committee.

That's critical because the CDC has confirmed more than 3,471 measles cases this year across 47 jurisdictions, the highest single-year count since 1991. Roughly 7 in 10 cases are children and teenagers -- and we've only just begun the school year.

Where does that leave parents navigating annual check-ups and volatile news cycles as the school year proceeds?

Talk to your doctor. Talk to your pharmacist. These are your most trusted resources. Your child's pediatrician knows your kid's health history, your family's needs and the medical evidence. Your pharmacist is trained, accessible on the weekends and right in your community. If you have questions, ask them.

To be clear: You're not failing as a parent if you're uncertain, and we should never blame or shame any parent who has doubts or wants to understand what they're giving their child. Questions are healthy. Confusion − especially in our current climate − is understandable. A good doctor will welcome the conversation, and ground their answers in decades of safety data, peer review and clinical expertise.

Just bring those questions to the people who know the science and your family best.

That's not political. That's parenting.