The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets Wednesday and Thursday. A once-obscure board, its work was thrust into the spotlight after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 of its members earlier this month.

He named eight replacements, some of whom have been outspoken about their mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns.

The board wields enormous influence, deciding on who gets vaccines in the U.S. and when.

Michael Osterholm, the Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and the leader of the Vaccine Integrity Project at the University of Minnesota, joined Minnesota Now to talk about the impact the committee’s decision could have on vaccine access.