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."

All 17 experts recently dismissed from a government vaccine advisory panel published an essay Monday decrying “destabilizing decisions" made by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that could lead to more preventable disease spread.