Oz: MMR vaccine ‘is not a lethal vaccine’

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), noted Sunday the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is not lethal, contradicting President Trump.

“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.”

In addition to splitting up the MMR shot, Trump’s order recommends that all children receive just 11 core vaccinations. Children at a high risk of infection should receive more vaccines, while others can still access vaccines after consulting with a doctor.

Oz said Sunday the order, which multiple medical experts have criticized , is intended to ensure Americans have “a choice” in deciding whether to vaccinate their children.

“The request of the president is to make sure that states 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 CMS administrator told Brennan.