A federal advisory panel said a combined vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox should no longer be offered for children under 4 on Thursday, as New York State health officials broke with federal agencies and announced their own broader guidelines for the updated COVID-19 shot.

The Northeast Public Health Collaborative will determine its own vaccine policies with the help of organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced. Along with New York, the coalition includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and New York City.

A similar collaborative was formed by California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii in response to mistrust of vaccine dec

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