CONVERTING QUADRIVALENT SEASONAL INFLUENZA VACCINE TO TRIVALENT AND GLOBAL IMPACTS

Abstract

On September 29, 2023 & February 23, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a recommendation to remove the B/Yamagata strain from the quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine on both Northern and Southern hemisphere due to the low risk of re-emergence in the community (no detections since March 2020). Therefore, to ensure long-term effectiveness and safety, WHO recommends converting the quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine to a trivalent influenza vaccine that does not contain the B/Yamagata strain. Based on WHO's recommendation, reference regulatory agencies such as the FDA, EMA have met to make an official decision on the composition of the influenza strains in the corresponding seasonal influenza vaccines for domestic and imported manufacturers. Many countries around the world are working with vaccine manufacturers to accelerate the convertion. It is expected that in the US from the 2024-2025 Northern Hemisphere (NH) flu season, in Europe and many other countries from the 2025-2026 Northern Hemisphere (NH) flu season, they will all convert to the trivalent influenza vaccine