We will have influenza vaccines for next season!
But what happened?
I am relieved to hear that vaccine recommendations were made for the 2025-2026 influenza season. However, how did we get here?
Why Do Influenza Vaccine Strains Change?
The influenza virus constantly evolves, undergoing antigenic drift and, occasionally, antigenic shift. These changes can make past vaccines less effective, requiring annual updates to the vaccine formulation. To stay ahead of these mutations, scientists analyze flu activity worldwide and make predictions about which strains are most likely to be dominant in the coming season.
Who Makes the Decision?
The World Health Organization (WHO) plays a significant role, convening a panel of experts twice a year—once for the Northern Hemisphere and once for the Southern Hemisphere. This advisory group includes representatives from WHO Collaborating Centers, national health agencies, and major research institutions. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a vaccine advisory committee called Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) that has a public meeting that finalizes recommendations based on WHO’s guidance that occurs in the spring.
How Are Strains Selected?
Scientists monitor flu activity through a global surveillance network, collecting and analyzing thousands of influenza virus samples from different regions. They assess:
Which strains are currently circulating?
How well recent vaccines have performed against them?
Whether any new mutations might impact vaccine effectiveness?
The availability of candidate vaccine viruses that can be grown for production.
The Recent Controversy
The VRBPAC meeting was cancelled and it was not clear why this happened. Instead, a closed-door meeting was held between experts from the CDC, FDA and Department of Defense, which recommended a trivalent vaccine containing 2 strains of influenza A and 1 strain of influenza B. This was the recommendation that confirmed the WHO’s recommendation, even though the U.S. has been trying to leave the WHO.
The Bottom Line
We will have an influenza vaccine ready for next season, but the normal processes involved have shifted.
Subscribe to stay informed. While not required, any support is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for this info. I recently heard you say how you’ve been at target for hate, I guess I should’ve assumed that would be true, but I had not thought of it. You are a deeply kind, generous, intelligent, and brave man. I thank you for your content, for your, basically volunteer work, and think that your patients and those in your personal life are deeply blessed. Thank you for being you and thank you for everything you do. I wish I could shelter you from peoples ignorance and hatred. ❤️🩹
Do we know they were actual experts and not just RFK rubber stampers? It should be transparent who’s approving vaccines. This is very sketchy - why didn’t he just let the committee decide? I could see him wanting to make an unsafe vaccine to validate his decades of crusade against vaccines. I don’t know if I’ll take this vaccine without more information and I ALWAYS take the flu vaccine. This man put mice in a blender… I don’t trust him at all.