Before this year, U.S. health officials — following recommendations by infectious disease experts — recommended annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older.

It’s not yet clear when military troops could be deployed into Illinois, but Gov. JB Pritzker expects President Donald Trump to “keep the militarization going” even after the federal government shut down overnight.

The rambling announcement, which appeared to rely on existing studies rather than significant new research, comes as the Make America Healthy Again movement has been pushing for answers on the causes of autism.

In a series of votes, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t specifically recommend vaccination but said people could make individual decisions.

Describing extraordinary turmoil inside the nation’s health agencies, Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Chief Debra Houry described exchanges in which Kennedy or political advisers rebuffed data supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

“This is about making sure no family in Illinois is left wondering if they can protect themselves against preventable serious illness,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “When the federal government abandons its responsibility, Illinois will step up.”

The latest COVID-19 vaccines were approved for people who are 65 and older or have certain health conditions. But medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics — and some states — are breaking from the federal guidelines by expanding their recommendations.

Medical groups and several Democrats in Congress have called for Kennedy to be fired, and his exchanges with Democratic senators on the panel repeatedly devolved into shouting, from both sides. But some Republican senators also expressed unease with his changes to COVID-19 policies.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as an “immoral” intrusion on people’s rights bordering on “slavery.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is experiencing chaos unlike anything ever seen before. Meanwhile, there’s also growing concern in the medical community over changing vaccine guidelines and the cancellation of cutting-edge vaccine research.

Top officials who resigned their positions at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the ouster of the agency’s director were escorted out of the building Thursday morning.

The new shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are approved for all seniors. But the Food and Drug Administration narrowed their use for younger adults and children to those with at least one high-risk health condition, such as asthma or obesity.

The group’s new COVID-19 recommendations come amid a tumultuous year for public health, as vaccine skeptics have come into power in the Trump administration and government guidance has become increasingly confusing.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, canceled $500 million in government-funded research projects to create new mRNA vaccines against respiratory illnesses that might trigger another health emergency.

It’s the third record-breaking year in a row for the exemption rate, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has adopted a recommendation to remove thimerosal from all influenza vaccines distributed in the United States, even though there is no clear evidence of harm from the mercury-based preservative.