Wisconsin public health experts worry about next year’s flu shot after FDA cancels advisory meeting

Public health experts in Wisconsin say they’re concerned by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s decision to cancel an important meeting around next year’s flu shot.

The FDA notified members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee that its March 13 meeting had been canceled. The committee of independent experts makes a recommendation about what strain of influenza to target with next season’s flu vaccine.

Ajay Sethi, professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the committee uses surveillance data from other parts of the word to understand what the virus could look like in North America next winter.

“There’s about a six month process to go from selection of the strains to then start manufacturing the vaccine to then scaling up and distribution,” Sethi said. “So the timing is critical in order to sort of make the deadline of getting the flu shot.”

Sethi said he’s concerned that federal leaders canceled the meeting without offering an explanation. He worries about what the abrupt cancellation says about the Trump administration’s approach to vaccines and public health.

“If something like holding a meeting is called into question, then what else might be called into question?” he said. “We should all be aware that this decision is just haphazard, and it’s not grounded in a justification that I think is right.”

Maureen Busalacchi, board president of the Wisconsin Public Health Association, said public health officials around the state are also concerned about the implications of canceling the meeting, especially after an alarming number of hospitalizations from influenza in the state this winter.

“This has been a particularly difficult influenza season,” Busalacchi said. “I think it’s really important that people get vaccinated, and that we have a vaccine to use so that we can protect people, especially our kids and elderly.”

Busalacchi said her organization is troubled by the broader pattern of canceling public meetings and cutting federal funding from the Trump administration over the last month. She said maintaining public health services like vaccines is critical to the health of Wisconsinites.

“While I don’t think anyone disagrees we should definitely look for waste, fraud and abuse, it’s also important that we do this thoughtfully, so that we can make sure that we’re not cutting critical pieces that help keep the health of our public,” she said.

Dr. Jon Temte, UW-Madison professor of family medicine, has served on similar national advisory groups for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention throughout his career. 

Temte said the committee meetings are open to the public, creating critical transparency around federal decision making. And he said the groups bring together professionals with a variety of viewpoints on the topic.

“We have this independence from government, this independence from industry, and it provides a background of individuals who have a lot of expertise on the topic,” Temte said.

But he said the committees simply make a recommendation that federal officials can choose whether or not to adopt. He said the FDA commissioner could still make a decision about next year’s flu shot in the coming months. 

Temte said that process may not be concerning for the seasonal flu shot, but it would be worrying if applied to the development of other vaccines.

“One could decide to avoid good medical and good scientific evidence and use whatever information or misinformation one chooses to use,” he said.