FDA advisory panel recommends a streamlined flu vaccine for next fall Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell

FDA advisory panel recommends a streamlined flu vaccine for next fall Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/05/trivalent-flu-vaccines-fda-advisory-panel-recommendation/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9LFzaBaYj9y8ccKMckcY3jCWDmAiNcs0YuL11qy5zvF5DscgkX2L1egcTsWhG1HS-967GlpdlpcMvKxSlWVhh7nmHddA&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email This flu lineage might have come back from extinction From one flu mystery to another, STAT’s Helen Branswell also brings us this report: In the first year or so of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was very little influenza activity globally. During that time of social distancing, mask wearing, and limits on international travel, one strain of flu B viruses disappeared. In the years since, it was concluded that the B/Yamagata lineage had gone extinct. The component that protected against these viruses was even taken out of flu shots. Flu laboratories around the world remain on the lookout for B/Yam, as it’s known in flu circles, and one now says it has detected the virus. Adam Meijer, who heads the Dutch National Reference Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses, said several independent tests of the a patient’s sample came back positive, though the lab was unable to grow virus, or generate a genetic sequence from the sample. Arnold Monto, a veteran flu epidemiologist at the University of Michigan who pushed to have B/Yamagata removed from U.S. flu shots, said given there is no genetic sequence, it’s too soon to know what to make of this report. Wenqing Zhang, who heads the WHO's global influenza program, also reserved judgment, saying the Dutch lab will be looking for B/Yam viruses in the coming flu season, so if they are circulating “they will be detected.” WHO recommends dropping component of many flu vaccines Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell https://www.statnews.com/2023/09/29/who-recommends-dropping-component-of-many-flu-vaccines/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--nun4X90iYfC46QT1wcc1FNvhgyV4AwNzryQuhUTZmKmVRBQpTM1fso7hYSDESKyNaEROEeQfXCCf6ZXMZXRmx6hy7eg&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email FDA expert panel endorses idea of removing a component from flu vaccine Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell https://www.statnews.com/2023/10/05/fda-expert-panel-endorses-idea-of-removing-a-component-from-flu-vaccine/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--x8IgGRaJYs4OgBVaXt2TFMIfusjmNQOv9imJe7jkaSc8fuK_L8u1egDLDBrIloQRnjTRCcfQjU0BRqM32t6VwpjrECA&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email