Vaccine meeting to prepare for coming winter’s flu season canceled

Trump officials have canceled a federal vaccine advisory committee meeting expected to be held next month that was intended to help select the makeup of next winter’s influenza vaccine.

This is the second federal vaccine advisory panel that has been postponed or canceled since Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, was sworn in as health and human services secretary.

The Food and Drug Administration notified members of its vaccine advisory committee Wednesday that a planned March 13 meeting was canceled, according to an email sent to members that was read to The Washington Post. No reason was provided.

The email warned members against forwarding the email. It suggested members decline to answer questions from media.

HHS and the FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Influenza viruses change year to year, so vaccines must be updated annually. Federal health officials pick the flu strains that the vaccine will target in advance of the flu season because the production process takes several months.

The FDA usually holds a meeting of its expert panel, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, in March to accommodate tight manufacturing deadlines and go over discussions about flu strain selection led by the World Health Organization.

The FDA advisory panel meeting includes public presentations from WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense, said Paul Offit, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a critic of Kennedy’s.

“What is the plan for picking this year’s flu strain?” Offit said.

Last week, Trump officials postponed a three-day meeting of the vaccine advisory panel to the CDC that was scheduled to begin Wednesday.

During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy repeatedly denied that he is anti-vaccine, contending that he is simply seeking more data and pledging not to undermine confidence in the shots. But public health experts have long warned that as HHS secretary, Kennedy could use his authority to undermine vaccine safety and effectiveness. A pivotal swing vote in Kennedy’s confirmation, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said he grappled with his vote but later said he had received a list of commitments from Kennedy that included protecting vaccine oversight.

Kennedy was critical of the CDC vaccine panel during his confirmation process and has argued that federal agencies are captive to 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.

An executive order issued by President Donald Trump last week to reduce federal bureaucracy said White House officials would identify “unnecessary governmental entities and Federal Advisory Committees that should be terminated on grounds that they are unnecessary.”