The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued recommendations to vaccine makers on Thursday regarding the virus strains to be used in the 2025–26 influenza vaccines, after canceling a meeting of its vaccine advisers last month that had been scheduled for March 13.
The strain composition recommendations for flu shots usually involve input from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), but this year, the agency excluded its advisers from the decision-making process.
Instead, the FDA held a closed session with experts from its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, along with officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Defense, to review U.S. and global surveillance data on currently circulating flu viruses….