Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA, CDC Granted Exemption To Advise WHO On Shots For Next Flu Season
CBS News: FDA Allowed To Help WHO Update Flu Shots, Despite Trump Ban
The Food and Drug Administration was allowed to participate in the World Health Organization's meeting this week on updating influenza shots, officials for the U.N. agency said, despite an order by President Trump last month banning government employees from working with the WHO. The administration has granted some exemptions to the order. (Tin, 2/28)
CIDRAP: WHO Advisers Swap Out H3N2 Strains For Next Northern Hemisphere Flu Vaccines
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced its advisory committee’s recommendations on strains to include for the Northern Hemisphere’s 2025-26 flu season, which swap out the H3N2 components but keep the current 2009 H1N1 and influenza B strains the same. The three strains recommended for the trivalent vaccine are also the same as those recommended for the Southern Hemisphere’s 2025 season vaccine, which the group weighed in on at its meetings in September 2024. (Schnirring, 2/28)
More on the flu —
CNN: US Flu Season May Have Reached Its Peak, CDC Says
The worst flu season the United States has had in more than a decade may have reached its peak, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data published by the agency on Friday shows that flu activity is still elevated but has decreased for two consecutive weeks. (McPhillips, 2/28)
The Washington Post: This Flu Season, Children Are Being Hospitalized At Higher Rates
For nearly two weeks, Rondi Bishop, 40, was quarantined with her husband in a room at Seattle Children’s Hospital as they watched the flu ravage their son’s body. It was a situation they never could have predicted. Their otherwise happy and healthy son, Elliot, who rarely missed a day of school, suddenly had to be airlifted to the hospital for treatment. As his condition worsened, doctors stepped in with treatments for sepsis, renal complications and severe breathing difficulties. (Malhi, 3/1)
