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A new group of CDC advisors voted last month to separate the chickenpox vaccine from the measles, mumps, rubella components of the MMRV shot due to concerns over febrile seizures, while recommending a more risk-based approach to COVID-19 immunizations that mirrors recent FDA approvals.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was scheduled to convene Oct. 22 to 23, but this meeting has been postponed, with no new date specified. The delay comes as the VA published new research showing that COVID-19 shots prevented hospitalizations and death.

In a series of memos last week, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Vinay Prasad outlined the FDA’s thinking on the recent limited approvals for updated COVID-19 vaccines.

Like the first batch of appointees to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, several of the new panelists have documented histories of vaccine and COVID-19 skepticism.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CBER Director Vinay Prasad—argued against vaccine mandates, partly because they limited medical choice. This week, the FDA under their leadership approved updated COVID-19 vaccines with restrictions that do the same.

The American Academy of Pediatrics called the decision to limit children’s access to COVID-19 vaccines “deeply troubling.”

The CDC no longer recommends COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women, a position that has been opposed by leading medical societies.

The White House has denied reports that the government could soon ban COVID-19 vaccines, noting that in the absence of an official announcement, “any discussion about HHS policy should be dismissed as baseless speculation.”

YouTube has shut down a channel containing hundreds of videos of comments made by doctors and other influencers—including CBER Director Vinay Prasad, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya—during the pandemic. This comes as Prasad reveals further details about last week’s updated COVID-19 approvals.

The CDC director—the first to be confirmed by the Senate under new legislation—has been ousted after less than a month following internal unrest regarding new, more restrictive approvals for updated COVID-19 vaccines, according to multiple sources.