WHO Advises Removing Vanished Flu Strain from Future Vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended excluding a family of flu viruses, known as influenza B/Yamagata, from future flu vaccines as it hasn't been seen since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Experts advising the WHO stated that since no B/Yamagata infections have been identified in years, there is no benefit to including it in vaccines. The decision was made to balance the absence of circulation of the Yamagata lineage virus with the theoretical risk of reintroduction into the population. Flu vaccines are regularly updated due to the continuous evolution of viruses, and final decisions about vaccine components are made by individual countries.