FDA Cancels Annual Flu Vaccine Meeting, WHO Makes Recommendations

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Feb. 26 canceled without explanation the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) March meeting to discuss seasonal flu vaccines, CNN reported. This cancellation follows the postponement of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting, which was to address a new meningitis vaccine, a vaccine to prevent a mosquito-borne illness called chikungunya, and RSV and flu vaccines, as CMM previously reported. 

The FDA’s meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is held every March to determine the flu strains for vaccine production, which is a six-month manufacturing cycle. Attendees received an email that said the event had been canceled, not postponed, with no clear reason why or the seasonal flu vaccines path forward. Still, CNN received confirmation that the FDA will make public its recommendation to manufacturers in time for updated vaccines for the 2025-2026 flu season. 

Additionally, on Feb. 28 the World Health Organization (WHO) released its recommendations for the viral composition of influenza vaccines for the 2025-2026 influenza season in the northern hemisphere. The announcement was made at an information session at the end of a four-day meeting on the Composition of Influenza Virus Vaccines, a meeting that is held twice annually.  

WHO makes recommendations through collaboration with an advisory group of experts gathered from WHO Collaborating Centres and WHO Essential Regulatory Laboratories to analyze influenza virus surveillance data from the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System. The recommendations issued are used by the national vaccine regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies to develop, produce, and license influenza vaccines for the following influenza season.  

CBS News reported that the FDA’s advisory committee typically adopts the WHO’s recommendations without changes. In recent years, though, the committee’s input has spurred changes.