Second Flu Vaccine Meeting Canceled -- What Happens Next?

THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- A federal vaccine advisory panel work session focused on next year's flu shot has been canceled without explanation.

It is the second vaccine advisory meeting that has been canceled or postponed since Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, was confirmed as secretary of health and human services (HHS).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed members of its vaccine advisory committee that their March 13 meeting would no longer take place, according to an email sent to the members and read to The Washington Post.

The email gave no reason for the cancellation and warned committee members not to forward or discuss it with the media.

Because influenza strains change, vaccines must be updated every year. Federal health officials must decide in advance which strains to target in the next vaccine because production takes months.

To inform its decision, the FDA’s advisory panel hears  from the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and longtime Kennedy critic, questioned the cancellation.

“What is the plan for picking this year’s flu strain?” Offit said in a report from The Washington Post.

The CDC's vaccine advisory panel meeting was also postponed, last week.

RELATED: Are Americans Still Testing for COVID? A New HealthDay/Harris Poll and Reaction from Dr. Paul Offit

During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy responded to claims that he is anti-vaccine, claiming that he's simply seeking more data. He pledged not to undermine confidence in the vaccine.

But public health experts fear his leadership could disrupt vaccine safety and effectiveness.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who cast a key swing vote in Kennedy’s confirmation, later said he secured commitments from Kennedy to protect vaccine oversight before voting to confirm him.

Kennedy has been critical of federal vaccine advisory committees like the CDC's, arguing that these health agencies are too influenced by the industries they regulate. 

“We will remove conflicts of interest on the committees and research partners whenever possible, or balance them with other stakeholders,” Kennedy said in remarks to HHS staff earlier this month, according to The Post.

The decision to cancel the flu vaccine advisory meeting comes just one week after President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at reducing federal bureaucracy.

The order said White House officials would identify “unnecessary governmental entities and Federal Advisory Committees that should be terminated on grounds that they are unnecessary.”

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on preventing seasonal flu.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, Feb. 26, 2025