Zincwarrior
Diamond Member
FDA cancelled the meeting of the vaccine advisory board which was to discuss current flu strains to prepare for next year's vaccine update. Do USMB members feel its a good idea to update flu vaccines?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has abruptly cancelled a vaccine advisory meeting where members were slated to discuss influenza vaccine strains.
The meeting was scheduled for March 13. Committee members received an email informing them of the cancellation on Wednesday afternoon with no rescheduling information and no reason given for the cancellation, committee member Paul Offit confirmed.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meets every March to determine which flu strains should be targeted, in order to give companies time to update their vaccines ahead of the upcoming flu season.
If HHS doesn’t make any flu strain recommendations, companies will likely have to rely on those made by a World Health Organization (WHO)-led panel, which is meeting this week. Despite President Trump intending to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO, the CDC is still reportedly participating in the meeting.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees FDA, did not immediately comment.
The FDA panel’s recommendations are heavily influenced by the WHO, and often largely adopts the WHO’s recommendations without changes.