The Trump administration has canceled an upcoming meeting of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee, a move that could complicate efforts to produce flu shots in time for the upcoming season. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which evaluates immunization data for the FDA, had planned to meet in March to discuss the composition of next season’s flu vaccine. The meeting is a routine but critical step in ensuring manufacturers have sufficient time to produce doses ahead of the next flu season. The meeting had been tentatively scheduled for March 13, but several committee members were notified late Wednesday afternoon that it had been canceled. “That was the word” that was used, said Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital Philadelphia and a member of the advisory panel who received the email Wednesday at 4:18 p.m. No reason was provided, and there was no indication of whether it would be rescheduled, Offit and two other panel members said. The FDA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The timing of the meeting is crucial because flu vaccine production is a lengthy process, with some doses still made using chicken eggs. Each year, FDA advisers meet to formally decide which flu strains to include, typically aligning with recommendations from the World Health Organization. Once selected, manufacturers need about six months to produce large quantities of the vaccine. Any significant delay in this process could mean the vaccine isn’t ready in time for the next flu season.
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