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.

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.

The new members of US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's panel of vaccine advisers will review long-approved immunisation schedules for children and teens. The seven members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip) met for the first time on Wednesday,