"Flu Family Tree: Changes to Future Vaccines Recommended by FDA Panel"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Livescience.com
A type of flu virus, the Yamagata lineage, has not been seen since March 2020, leading experts to recommend its removal from future flu vaccines. The FDA advisory committee has unanimously agreed to drop the Yamagata viruses from the flu shot formulation for the 2024-2025 season, reducing the vaccine from four to three types of flu. This change aims to boost production capacity and eliminate potential risks associated with growing the virus in a lab. Despite some industry pushback, U.S. flu shot manufacturers are on track to make trivalent vaccines next season, with other countries likely to follow suit.