Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Flu Vaccine Manufacturers In A Tight Spot After Canceled FDA Meeting
The Food and Drug Administration’s abrupt decision on Wednesday to cancel next month’s vaccine advisory committee meeting — where experts recommend the strains for next season’s flu shot — is raising concerns about whether the U.S. will have enough of the vaccine for the next flu season. Drugmakers already face a tight deadline each year to produce enough doses for distribution in the fall. (Lovelace Jr., 2/27)
This season's influenza vaccines may have been less effective against emergency room visits for some kids compared to last year, a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests, though effectiveness was still high against hospitalization. So far this season, the vaccine's protection against flu hospitalization was at least 63% for children and at least 41% for adults. These estimates of effectiveness against hospitalization, released Thursday in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, are considered high for flu vaccines. (Tin, 2/27)
The Kent County Health Department and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that two more children have died from influenza in the 2024-2025 season, raising the total number of pediatric deaths to five. County officials did not immediately provide additional details on the cases but said, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of these young lives to influenza." (Booth-Singleton, 2/28)
Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that 13% of children who have died from seasonal flu this season had influenza-associated encephalopathy or encephalitis (IAE), a severe neurologic complication. (Soucheray, 2/27)
On bird flu —
Now, agency officials are running into logistical challenges in reinstating its bird flu staff — and convincing them to return to jobs while the president repeatedly attempts to squeeze government workers. (Brown, 2/27)
As the bird flu outbreak continues gaining force in the US, a second company selling raw pet food issued a voluntary recall after cats from two different households in Oregon contracted H5N1 from the tainted meat earlier this month. Two more cats in different households in Washington state have tested positive for bird flu after eating the same brand of raw pet food nearly two weeks after the recall, officials announced on Wednesday. (Schreiber, 2/28)
