diff --git a/src/test/subscription/t/020_messages.pl b/src/test/subscription/t/020_messages.pl
index 0940d0f45f2..52bd92df1dd 100644
--- a/src/test/subscription/t/020_messages.pl
+++ b/src/test/subscription/t/020_messages.pl
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ use Test::More tests => 5;
 # Create publisher node
 my $node_publisher = get_new_node('publisher');
 $node_publisher->init(allows_streaming => 'logical');
+$node_publisher->append_conf('postgresql.conf',
+	'autovacuum = off');
 $node_publisher->start;
 
 # Create subscriber node
@@ -35,12 +37,14 @@ $node_subscriber->safe_psql('postgres',
 	"CREATE SUBSCRIPTION tap_sub CONNECTION '$publisher_connstr' PUBLICATION tap_pub"
 );
 
+$node_publisher->wait_for_catchup('tap_sub');
+
 # Ensure a transactional logical decoding message shows up on the slot
 $node_subscriber->safe_psql('postgres', "ALTER SUBSCRIPTION tap_sub DISABLE");
 
-# wait for the replication connection to drop from the publisher
+# wait for the replication slot to become inactive in the publisher
 $node_publisher->poll_query_until('postgres',
-	'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM pg_catalog.pg_stat_replication', 0);
+	"SELECT COUNT(*) FROM pg_catalog.pg_replication_slots WHERE slot_name = 'tap_sub' AND active='f'", 1);
 
 $node_publisher->safe_psql('postgres',
 	"SELECT pg_logical_emit_message(true, 'pgoutput', 'a transactional message')"
@@ -77,7 +81,7 @@ is($result, qq(1|pgoutput),
 $result = $node_publisher->safe_psql(
 	'postgres', qq(
 		SELECT get_byte(data, 0)
-		FROM pg_logical_slot_peek_binary_changes('tap_sub', NULL, NULL,
+		FROM pg_logical_slot_get_binary_changes('tap_sub', NULL, NULL,
 			'proto_version', '1',
 			'publication_names', 'tap_pub')
 ));
@@ -88,16 +92,6 @@ is( $result, qq(66
 	'option messages defaults to false so message (M) is not available on slot'
 );
 
-$node_subscriber->safe_psql('postgres', "ALTER SUBSCRIPTION tap_sub ENABLE");
-$node_publisher->wait_for_catchup('tap_sub');
-
-# ensure a non-transactional logical decoding message shows up on the slot
-$node_subscriber->safe_psql('postgres', "ALTER SUBSCRIPTION tap_sub DISABLE");
-
-# wait for the replication connection to drop from the publisher
-$node_publisher->poll_query_until('postgres',
-	'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM pg_catalog.pg_stat_replication', 0);
-
 $node_publisher->safe_psql('postgres', "INSERT INTO tab_test VALUES (1)");
 
 my $message_lsn = $node_publisher->safe_psql('postgres',
@@ -109,7 +103,7 @@ $node_publisher->safe_psql('postgres', "INSERT INTO tab_test VALUES (2)");
 $result = $node_publisher->safe_psql(
 	'postgres', qq(
 		SELECT get_byte(data, 0), get_byte(data, 1)
-		FROM pg_logical_slot_peek_binary_changes('tap_sub', NULL, NULL,
+		FROM pg_logical_slot_get_binary_changes('tap_sub', NULL, NULL,
 			'proto_version', '1',
 			'publication_names', 'tap_pub',
 			'messages', 'true')
@@ -118,15 +112,6 @@ $result = $node_publisher->safe_psql(
 
 is($result, qq(77|0), 'non-transactional message on slot is M');
 
-$node_subscriber->safe_psql('postgres', "ALTER SUBSCRIPTION tap_sub ENABLE");
-$node_publisher->wait_for_catchup('tap_sub');
-
-$node_subscriber->safe_psql('postgres', "ALTER SUBSCRIPTION tap_sub DISABLE");
-
-# wait for the replication connection to drop from the publisher
-$node_publisher->poll_query_until('postgres',
-	'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM pg_catalog.pg_stat_replication', 0);
-
 # Ensure a non-transactional logical decoding message shows up on the slot when
 # it is emitted within an aborted transaction. The message won't emit until
 # something advances the LSN, hence, we intentionally forces the server to