The votes in favor of Merck's shot are a sigh of relief after Kennedy gutted the panel and tapped replacements, some of whom are well-known vaccine critics.

A group of outside advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted 5-2 to recommend use of a new shot that can protect babies from respiratory syncytial virus, adding an additional tool against the most common cause of hospitalization in infants.

Merck's Enflonsia vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus won approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.