8/16/16
In an unusual development for this upcoming flu season, it would appear that the FDA and the CDC are not in agreement. The FDA has approved Flumist’s 2016-2017 Quadrivalent formulation however, the CDC’s ACIP is not recommending it.
With the FDA and the CDC having somewhat separate missions with regard to vaccines, on a very basic level one can be seen as the product and manufacturing analysis approval entity and the other dives deeper into the data on what products are approved and available then makes recommendations. No small task for either the FDA or CDC.
This article provides some explanation for the complexities and different takes this year on Astra Zeneca’s nasal influenza vaccine LAIV, Flumist.