FDA Issues Flu Vaccine Recommendations After Canceling Routine Meeting With Advisers

The FDA has held a closed session with its own experts and officials from the CDC and the Defense Department.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued recommendations to vaccine makers on Thursday regarding the virus strains to be used in the 2025–26 influenza vaccines, after canceling a meeting of its vaccine advisers last month that had been scheduled for March 13.

The strain composition recommendations for flu shots usually involve input from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), but this year, the agency excluded its advisers from the decision-making process.