The latest vaccines for COVID-19 have reached Minnesota. But should you get one? Can you find one? And will your insurance pay for it?

These are just some of the questions flying around following turmoil at federal health agencies.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, laid off workers, overseen changes in COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and replaced the committee that sets broad vaccine guidance for the nation.

Former leaders of the CDC under both Republican and Democratic administrations recently warned that the nation's public health system is a “raging fire” under Kennedy’s leadership.

MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with a pediatrician and a professor of public health about what this means for public health in Minnesota and for people just trying to get their fall shots.

Guests:

• Dr. Rebecca Wurtz is a professor in the division of Health Policy & Management at the University of Minnesota. She is also a board-certified infectious disease physician and has worked in public health roles in government and private sector settings.
• Dr. Gigi Chawla is a pediatrician and the chief of general pediatrics at Children's Minnesota.