2 new influenza strains recommended for next season
REPORTING FROM AN FDA ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
SILVER SPRING, MD. – In an effort to better match the vaccine to the virus, federal advisors have recommended two new strains be swapped into the 2018-2019 quadrivalent influenza vaccine.
Singapore A(H3N2) and the B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage) are recommended be added to A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus and B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage) for the upcoming season, according to a near-unanimous vote at a meeting of the Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
Trivalent vaccines should include the same strains, with the exception of B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage), the committee recommended.
The panel voted separately on the strains, and all votes were unanimous, except for the vote on the B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage) in the trivalent vaccine, which was supported with 11 positive votes with 1 abstention.
