Statement on Cancellation of FDA Vaccine Advisory
Committee Meeting 

Ensuring that all people are protected from the flu must remain a top priority of our nation’s health leaders. Cancelling a critically important Food and Drug Administration meeting that is vital to the development of effective flu vaccines for next flu season is irresponsible, ignores science and shows a lack of concern for the protection of the public from this potentially severe disease. This decision — and other federal efforts to undermine well-established science about vaccine safety — puts everyone at risk, especially when we are currently experiencing the worst U.S. flu season in more than a decade. 

Cancelling this meeting means vaccine makers may not have the vital information and time they need to produce and distribute targeted vaccines before the next flu season. If the FDA meeting is not immediately rescheduled, many lives that could be saved by vaccination will be lost. 

— Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP — President, IDSA 

About IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a community of more than 13,000 physicians, scientists and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases. Its purpose is to improve the health of individuals, communities and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health and prevention relating to infectious diseases. Learn more at idsociety.org.