U.S. hasn’t sent essential seasonal flu data to WHO ahead of key vaccine meeting [Video]

Seasonal flu vaccines need to be updated each year because the virus changes so frequently. But the U.S. hasn’t contributed its information on what’s spreading there since January, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said.

For seasonal influenza, which forced schools to shut down in some American states earlier this month, the data isn’t being shared, Dr. Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global influenza program, told journalists in a webinar on Wednesday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) normally participate in global discussions hosted by WHO on influenza vaccinations twice a year.

Detailed seasonal flu information is important to monitor outbreaks globally and to inform which influenza strains should be included in vaccines for the Northern Hemisphere’s following winter.

“Since 20th January, CDC has not yet reported into the WHO platform of Flunet and FluID,” Zhang said, referring to …