The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has canceled a critical meeting of flu vaccine experts, which is crucial for deciding on the strains to target in next year’s vaccine. This move comes as the country faces one of its worst flu seasons in 15 years, with over 19,000 deaths reported by the CDC, including nearly 100 children.
Dr. Paul Offit, a director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an FDA committee advisor, joins me to discuss the importance of this meeting and the implications of its cancellation. The annual gathering brings together federal health officials, representatives from the World Health Organization, and vaccine manufacturers to predict which strains will cause the next year’s influenza epidemic.
According to Offit, the meeting was critical because it takes about six months to produce a flu vaccine, and every March, they meet to review global virus movement patterns and pick strains likely to cause this year’s outbreak. However, the FDA canceled the meeting without providing any justification or explanation.
Offit is worried about the impact of this cancellation on public health, citing concerns that the decision may lead to continued outbreaks and increased mortality rates due to reduced vaccination coverage. He attributes the recent resurgence of measles in the US to declining immunization rates, largely fueled by misinformation and discredited claims from individuals like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
As the country faces a growing measles crisis, Offit emphasizes the need for effective surveillance systems to detect outbreaks quickly. However, with the federal government’s withdrawal from international health organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), he fears that local health departments may struggle to respond effectively to emerging public health threats.
The cancellation of this critical meeting highlights the urgent need for a coordinated national response to address the growing flu and measles crises in the US.
Source: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/health-officials-concerned-as-fda-cancels-meeting-to-update-flu-vaccines