File Photo: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters will be found on November 4, 2009 in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Jason Reed | Reuters
Advisory Board members were cancelled on Wednesday to CNBC after a critical March meeting of the Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisors was cancelled without explanation.
Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meetings are held every March to select shots of flu strains released in the upcoming fall and winter.
However, Dr. Paul Offit, a member of that panel, told CNBC he received an email at 4:18pm on Wednesday saying the March 13 meeting had been cancelled. He said there were no indications of whether it would be rescheduled or not.
“Why did they cancel this meeting? Why did they cancel the meeting? Will manufacturers now rely on the World Health Organization to determine the strains of this year’s flu vaccine?” Offit told CNBC.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The cancelled meeting comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who currently heads the HHS, is making an early move that could affect U.S. vaccination and policies.
It also shows that influenza has caused an estimated 910,000 hospitalizations since October amid particularly brutal flu season in US CDC data.
Earlier this month, another advisory meeting to help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make vaccine recommendations has been postponed to “respond to public comments before the meeting,” several news outlets reported. It is also unclear whether the meeting will be rescheduled.
Kennedy said last week that despite his previous pledge, he would consider a vaccine schedule for his childhood. He has pledged to see if the new “Again American Health” committee investigates vaccines, pesticides and antidepressants to see if it is contributing to the rise in chronic diseases in the United States.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is squeezing funds for Moderna’s avian flu vaccine, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The country is tackling a record-breaking avian flu outbreak that affected dozens of cow herds along with herds of eggs, causing egg prices to skyrocket. The rapid spread of animals raised concerns about the wider spread to humans. ”
