Recently fired members of a committee that advises the federal government on immunization safety lashed out at Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying that their terminations will limit access to vaccines and put American lives at risk.

The 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, who were ousted last week, argued their abrupt dismissal has "left the U.S. vaccine program critically weakened."

Critics fear that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services chief RFK, Jr., known for his antivaccine views, has picked a crucial CDC committee that will be a “disaster for public health”