Havers oversaw critical data-gathering on hospitalizations related to COVID-19 and crafted guidance on handling the Zika virus and other outbreaks during her time at the CDC. But now, she told Daily Kos as she watched the hearing, votes like this are just putting more people at risk.

“Anything that decreases vaccine confidence or access to vaccines will lead to unnecessary infections, more hospitalizations, and more preventable deaths,” she said.

When discussions kicked off Thursday afternoon, it didn’t take long for some to point out the pitfalls of removing or tampering with current vaccine guidelines.

At one point, ACIP member Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, pointed out that the proposed changes to the MMRV vaccine would put families at risk of not being able to afford immunizations for their children even if they did, in fact, want it. Under the proposed changes, the vaccine wouldn’t be covered by the financial assistance program Vaccines for Children. Additionally, insurance companies may drop coverage of the shot as well.

"So that implies that the parents' choice, unless they want to pay for it themselves, the parents' choice is taken away," Hibbeln said, adding that the option would be "basically taken away from them.”

While one ACIP member made a case against altering the MMRV vaccine recommendation, Kennedy made sure to fill the council with people who shared his ideology.

The HHS secretary sacked 17 members of the ACIP in June, and replaced them with his handpicked staff. Many of the people Kennedy selected have already been linked to anti-vaccine rhetoric.

And given the disastrous spread of measles across Texas earlier this year, vaccine availability may be a high concern for some.

However, it wasn’t just the MMRV on the table. The ACIP members also were voting on removing recommendations for hepatitis B immunizations in newborns. Typically, this shot has been administered to children soon after birth to protect them from contracting the virus in case their mother is a carrier.

Kennedy’s team of vaccine skeptics pushed the idea of waiting one to four months before giving the child the shot, should the mother test negative for hepatitis B.

“If there is some benefit or removal of harm from waiting a month, I haven’t seen any data,” one member of the panel shot back said. “But there are a number of potential harms.”

Havers also pointed out the dangers of delaying the shot.

“If the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose is changed, more infants will be infected with a lifelong, incurable infection that can cause cancer, cirrhosis or death,” she told Daily Kos.

“Administering the birth dose to all infants prevents vulnerable infants from being missed at birth and also protects them throughout childhood from hepatitis B infection. The current vaccine has been used for decades and is extremely safe and effective. If it is changed, we will see children die unnecessarily.”

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine grip on HHS has grown since he’s taken over the position. From firing CDC directors who don’t agree with his agenda to altering vaccine recommendations, many changes are taking place within the groups that manage America’s health and wellness.