Video from Monday's Oval Office ceremony showed President Trump, 80, tilting his head back and appearing motionless for several seconds while NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya described a new executive order breaking up the combined MMR vaccine into three separate shots. The clip spread widely online, with critics accusing him of dozing off; the White House maintained he was simply listening with his eyes closed.
It is not the first such moment: officials gave similar explanations after Trump appeared to close his eyes during a December cabinet meeting and at Senator Lindsey Graham's funeral in July, with spokesperson Davis Ingle calling anyone suggesting otherwise 'a depraved moron.' Trump has also been photographed with bruising on his forearm, which he has attributed to daily aspirin use and a prior diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency.
The vaccine order itself directs that children receive the MMR vaccine as three separate shots at different appointments rather than one combined dose, and creates new categories distinguishing vaccines recommended for all children from those meant only for higher-risk groups. Public health experts have warned the change could leave children under-protected for longer and increase costs and missed appointments, while the administration continues to cite a link between vaccines and autism that mainstream science has rejected.
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