The Food and Drug Administration was allowed to attend the World Health Organization conference on flu shot updates this week, UN agency officials said. order Last month, President Trump banned government employees from working with the WHO. The administration has granted several exemptions in the order.
“The same FDA as the CDC took part in a newly completed vaccine composition consultation. They contributed again to the data package. They participated as they did in the past.”
A source familiar with the exemption told CBS News that the FDA could work with WHO on “public health outbreaks and emergency response.”
The Trump administration has granted exemptions for U.S. officials to cooperate on other illnesses, including allowing the CDC to work with WHO. Ebola outbreak In Uganda.
Zhang’s comments on FDA participation followed the release of this year’s WHO recommendations on how to update annual flu shots for the upcoming Northern Hemisphere flu season. Experts and officials gather from around the world every February to come up with an idea of ​​an update.
As part of that process, the FDA will run one of four “essential regulatory labs” that develop tests for the efficacy of influenza shots.
One major change that WHO recommends for the next flu season is an update of ingredients that protect the strain of the virus called H3. Data from the US suggests that the vaccine this season was not very effective For some children Protects against H3 strains.
“The H3 component always gives us the most sadness. It is constantly changing and evolving than other viruses,” said Ian Barr of the Victoria Infectious Disease Reference Institute in Australia.
Officials also said the US has resumed data sharing within the global flu system, making it available in time for flu shots to be updated. Part of the sharing was done by publishing data to publicly available data platforms, rather than publicly available data platforms, as was the norm in the past.
