WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo-area pediatrician is speaking out against President Trump's executive order recommending major changes to the federal government's childhood vaccine schedule, calling the move unsupported by science.
Trump signed the order Monday, recommending the number of vaccines for children be reduced from 18 to 11, cutting shots for diseases including hepatitis, meningitis, flu and rotavirus.
During the announcement, Trump also suggested a link between vaccines and autism — a claim health experts say is false — and pushed for the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella to be administered as 3 separate shots given at separate times.
"I am dismayed. I really feel that the recommendations that President Trump put forth in his executive order is not backed by any sound science," Dr. Rachel Kaufman said.
Kaufman, a pediatrician at Buffalo Pediatric Associates in Williamsville, described the real-world consequences of the diseases the order would remove vaccine recommendations for.
"I have held babies in my hands, ones who are their heart rate is slowing and becoming irregular because they're so dehydrated from rotavirus. I have looked at what it is to do a spinal tap on an infant and have pus come out instead of spinal fluid because there's an meningitis infection around the brain," Kaufman said.
WATCH: 'I am dismayed': Buffalo area doctor rejects Trump's childhood vaccine executive order
Trump said during the signing of the order that the MMR vaccine should be administered differently.
"You have the MMR — we want in three separate vaccinations...given at separate times," Trump said.
Kaufman said that approach carries real risk.
"There's no medical significance to that and at the same time, spreading out and slowing down vaccines puts all of our children at risk. Measles is not an abstract idea for the United States anymore. Measles is rising and rising and rising," Kaufman said.
On the claim that vaccines are linked to autism, Kaufman was direct.
"The best facts-based evidence I have shows that there is no vaccine that causes autism. This has been studied again and again in multiple countries, and vaccines are not the cause of autism," Kaufman said.
The New York State Health Commissioner also responded Monday, saying the executive order changes nothing at the state level.
"This Executive Order doesn't change New York State's immunization requirements or recommendations. To be clear: no new research was presented. Vaccines are the best protection for our children... With measles cases on the rise across the country, now is not the time to confuse the public... Here in New York, we will continue to be guided by the science," the commissioner said.
Children in New York State are required to be vaccinated to attend school.
While the executive order carries only the weight of a recommendation and leaves the final decision to parents, Kaufman urges parents to speak with their pediatrician and warned of the broader consequences of reduced vaccination rates.
"And we will all pay the price for this. Because no matter what individual choice you make yourself, if enough people in your community aren't vaccinated, we all become vulnerable," Kaufman said.
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