Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
Splitting the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine into separate shots could take up to a decade, according to one of the two companies that produce the vaccine for the U.S. market.
A tray of MMR vaccine vials at a clinic in Lubbock, Texas, on March 1, 2025. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images"Even under current expedited review pathways, it could take years - potentially as many as 10 - to meet the safety and efficacy requirements to obtain FDA approval and then begin manufacturing and commercialization" of single-disease shots, Merck said in a statement.
Merck, which did not respond to a request for more details, had told Politifact in 2025 - after President Donald Trump floated splitting the MMR vaccine - that it could take more than 10 years to separate the components into three separate vaccines.
Trump said in an Aug. 10 order that he was issuing "gold standard childhood vaccine recommendations," which "recognize that the combined measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine should be administered in three separate single-disease shots once such products are domestically available." The order directed agencies to take steps to advance the recommendations.
Before signing the order, Trump said, "You have the MMR, we
