An FDA advisory panel has unanimously recommended the agency approve a trivalent, rather than quadrivalent, flu vaccine for use next season.
The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee urged manufacturers to remove the influenza B Yamagata lineage strain from next season's flu shots during a March 5 meeting. The flu type B lineage hasn't been detected globally since March 2020 and no longer poses a threat to public health, the committee said.
The move marks a return to trivalent vaccines after more than a decade — the FDA approved the first quadrivalent flu vaccine that includes the second type B strain in 2012.
The FDA said it's working with manufacturers to have "an adequate and diverse supply" of trivalent flu shots ready for next flu season.
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