WATCH: Dr. Oz Clarifies President Trump’s Claim About MMR Vaccine

“The MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine, and it is offered in other countries,” Oz told host Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

After signing an executive order to alter federal guidance on the childhood vaccination schedule, Trump claimed the MMR vaccine was “lethal” in some cases.

The president’s order recommended that physicians split up the combined MMR shot, which has been available since 1971. Doctors recommend that children receive the vaccine at 12 to 15 months and again at 4 to 6 years.

“Together there could be a possibility they are quite lethal,” the president said in the Oval Office, referring to the MMR vaccine. “And separately it looks like they are not at all lethal but just very effective.”

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The Fauci fiasco created Vax hesitancy across the globe. Questioning Vax safety is a result. People want vaccines but only if they are safe.

— Hades (@wolvesofhades) August 23, 2026

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Because it has actually been tested, unlike many other vaxes.

— Defenestrator (@24Defenestrator) August 23, 2026

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Hey Oz, he didn't say always. For that matter, you can't prove never.

— Whodo (@whododadudu) August 23, 2026

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Oz explained that while it’s ultimately up to the states to determine MMR vaccine requirements for children, Trump’s executive order is to push the states to “offer parents either eligibility because of religious beliefs or other reasons why they may not want to have their kids take all the vaccines in order.”

The two-shot MMR vaccine has been the recommended standard in the US since 1989. Most major developed countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, have similar MMR recommendations.

During his wide-ranging interview, Oz also addressed concerns about projections that the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will go insolvent in about seven years, triggering an automatic benefits cut of about 11%, per the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

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“The MMR vaccine is not a lethal vaccine,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz says after President Trump claimed earlier this month the single-shot vaccination could be “quite lethal.”

When asked whether the increased costs of separating the vaccine into three shots would affect… pic.twitter.com/KVWfjxMnVC

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 23, 2026

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