The Food and Drug Administration unexpectedly canceled its advisors’ annual meeting to renew its flu vaccines next season. Panel advisors and multiple officials have confirmed to CBS News and could hinder the process of starting production next winter Flu shot.
“We’re all trying to understand what’s going on. Why was this meeting cancelled? It’s an important meeting. What are your plans for the flu vaccine this year?”
Offitt said he received a notification that the meeting had been cancelled shortly after 4pm. The FDA’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss how to renew shots for the upcoming flu season.
One former and current federal health official confirmed that the committee’s upcoming meeting was cancelled without explanation.
An FDA spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Companies that manufacture flu vaccines rely on the FDA each year to select the stocks they use in shots made for the American market. Certain strains are selected annually based on predictions of what influenza variants will be in circulation in the coming winter.
The choice is usually made by the committee in early March, drawing a large portion of the findings reviewing data on findings from a meeting of World Health Organization advisors. influenza From the entire Northern Hemisphere.
“Because the vaccine is cultivated With eggsin most cases, it takes six months to produce. So March is six months before September, when these vaccines roll out,” Offit said.
Last year, the FDA called on the committee to meet on March 5th to decide how to renew flu shots for the 2024-2025 season.
Agents usually announce the dates for these meetings one month in advance. Next month’s meeting has not yet been made public.
Even if meetings are finally scheduled later this year, delays could affect shot availability at the start of the flu season.
“This delay actually puts the manufacturer in it. It will take time to optimize production of updated vaccine virus strains. As much time as possible before the upcoming fall vaccine season,” the former federal health department told CBS News.
Strains chosen to be targeted by the vaccine can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the shot.
Initial data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Test suggests this Past seasons The vaccine could have been a poor match for one of the common strains of the virus. More data on vaccine efficacy is expected to be released Thursday.
Cancellation is just the latest federal vaccine conference to get confused.
The quarterly meeting of the CDC Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices was unexpectedly postponed earlier this month, citing the need to “respond to public comments before meetings.”
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