FDA cancels meeting on next year’s flu vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration canceled a vaccine advisory committee meeting that was supposed to discuss what flu strains to include in next season’s influenza vaccine. The agency ─ which did not give a reason for the cancelation or confirm whether it would issue the flu-strain vaccine selection without input from the advisory panel ─ said it would make public its recommendations to manufacturers in time for updated vaccines to be available for the 2025-2026 flu vaccine. The Infectious Diseases Society of America said the cancelation could affect the ability to produce enough vaccines in time for next year’s flu season, which in turn, could result in more flu hospitalizations and deaths. (ABC News article, 2/27/25)