WHO Advises Removing Vanished Flu Strain from Future Vaccines
TL;DR Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended removing a component from seasonal flu vaccines that protects against the B/Yamagata lineage of influenza viruses, as this strain has not been detected since March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the spread and cycles of other infectious diseases, including the flu, resulting in a virtually nonexistent 2020-2021 flu season and a collapse in the genetic diversity of circulating flu strains. WHO advisors have now recommended excluding the B/Yamagata component from future flu vaccines, as the virus appears to be extinct and its inclusion could pose a theoretical risk of reintroduction.
- WHO says flu vaccines should ditch strain that vanished during COVID Ars Technica
- One family of flu viruses hasn’t been seen since 2020. WHO says it can be left out of future flu vaccines CNN
- WHO recommends dropping component of many flu vaccines STAT
- WHO advisers recommend switch back to trivalent flu vaccines University of Minnesota Twin Cities
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