FDA meeting to choose flu vaccine composition canceled without explanation – CNN International
A March meeting of outside advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration to discuss the composition of flu vaccines for this fall’s flu season has been canceled, a member of the advisory committee told CNN.
The meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, is held every March “to pick flu strains, because it’s a six-month production cycle for a vaccine released in September,” Dr. Paul Offit, a member of VRBPAC, told CNN Wednesday.
He said this year’s meeting had been set for March 13, and he received an email Wednesday afternoon saying it had been canceled.
“No indication it’s been postponed,” he told CNN; “cancelled.”
He said it wasn’t clear who directed the meeting to be cancelled or why, and said it’s also not clear now how flu vaccine manufacturers will get guidance on the composition of seasonal flu vaccines Р“relying on WHO recommendations? What’s the plan?” he said.
The FDA confirmed the cancellation in a statement sent to CNN on Thursday.
“A planned March 13 meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on the influenza vaccine strains for the 2025-2026 influenza season in the northern hemisphere has been cancelled,” the agency said. “The FDA will make public its recommendations to manufacturers in time for updated vaccines to be available for the 2025-2026 influenza season.”
A meeting of CDC’s vaccine advisers, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, scheduled to take place this week had already been postponed. The draft agenda included discussions and votes on flu shots and flu shots for the Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines for children whose parents and guardians may not be able to afford them.
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