Trump changes position on vaccinations, urges parents to "get vaccinated".

President Donald Trump on Friday urged parents to vaccinate their children after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the number of measles cases reported in the United States had reached a record in nearly 20 years .

"They have to get vaccinated," Trump told reporters. "Immunizations are so important. It's really around now. They must have their shots "

On Wednesday afternoon, the CDC confirmed 695 cases of measles reported in the United States, the highest number since the country's eradication in 2000. California reported 38 cases of measles on Thursday.

ABC News, CDC

Trump's recent remarks are a change in his past views on vaccination.

He addressed the issue for the first time in 2012 in a tweet saying: "Massive combined vaccinations to young children are the cause of the sharp rise in autism …"

Trump suggested in 2014 that vaccinations must be spread out "over a long period".

In a 2015 presidential debate, Trump expressed support for a widely refuted belief that vaccination and autism are linked, claiming to know a two-year-old girl who received the vaccine and who, a week later, was been diagnosed with autism.

"You take this beautiful baby," Trump said. "I mean, it looks like it's destined for a horse, not a child, and we've had so many cases, people working for me, just the other day, at 2 years old, a beautiful child went to be vaccinated and came back in. A week later, he had a huge fever, became very, very sick, he is now autistic. "

CDC officials attributed the outbreak of measles cases to large outbreaks in Washington State and New York that began late last year. Secretary of Social Services and Health Alex Azar issued a statement regarding the measles outbreak and said that vaccination was the only way to ensure the country's security.