On February 23, 2024, Beijing time , the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a notice on the recommended components of the northern hemisphere influenza vaccine for the 2024-2025 season to assist national health departments and vaccine manufacturers to effectively respond to the challenges of this autumn and winter influenza season.

Compared with the previous influenza season (2023-2024 influenza season), the A(H3N2) virus in the recommended influenza vaccine strains for 2024-2025 has changed. )-like virus' was changed to 'A/Thailand/8/2022 (H3N2)-like virus'. Specific recommendations for the components of influenza vaccines based on chicken embryo cells in the northern hemisphere for 2024-2025 are as follows

Quadrivalent influenza vaccine

A/ H1N1: A/Victoria/4897/2022 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus

A/ H3N2: A/Thailand/8/2022 (H3N2)-like virus

B Victoria lineage: B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus

B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage) -like virus

Trivalent influenza vaccine

A/ H1N1: A/Victoria/4897/2022 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus

A/ H3N2: A/Thailand/8/2022 (H3N2)-like virus

B Victoria lineage: B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus

The influenza vaccine antigens approved in my country are all based on chicken embryo cell culture

The above recommendations provide important guidance and reference for health departments and vaccine manufacturers in various countries to timely adjust and produce vaccines that adapt to the prevailing virus strains that year, so as to better respond to the arrival of the influenza season.

Influenza Vaccine and Influenza Epidemic Prevention and Control

Influenza (referred to as 'influenza') is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza viruses that seriously harms human health. Influenza viruses are antigenically variable and spread rapidly, causing seasonal epidemics every year. Outbreaks are prone to occur in places where people gather, such as schools, daycare institutions, and nursing homes.

According to WHO estimates, influenza causes about 1 billion infections, 3 to 5 million severe cases, and 290,000 to 650,000 respiratory disease-related deaths worldwide every year.

Since influenza viruses are prone to mutation, influenza strains may change every year, making it difficult for antibodies previously formed through natural infection or immunization to neutralize effectively, making the population generally susceptible.

Professional organizations, including the World Health Organization, emphasize that timely updating of influenza vaccine strains is one of the important measures to prevent and control the spread of influenza. The 'Technical Guidelines for Influenza Vaccination in China' clearly states that influenza vaccination is an effective means to prevent influenza and reduce the burden of influenza-related severe illness and death. It can reduce the health hazards caused by influenza-related diseases and the crowding of medical resources.

As influenza viruses mutate, updating influenza vaccines is crucial to strengthening influenza prevention and control. By ensuring that influenza vaccines match current circulating virus strains, infection rates can be effectively reduced, the burden on the medical system can be reduced, and the adverse social and economic impacts of an influenza pandemic can be avoided.

Spring flu epidemic cannot be ignored

Influenza appears as a seasonal epidemic and high incidence in temperate regions every winter and spring.

Beginning in May 2022, influenza activity in southern provinces of China continued to increase again, entering the summer high-incidence period, reaching the highest level in the same period in the past five years , with A(H3N2) subtype being the absolute dominant strain; from mid-February to April 2023 At the end of the month, China experienced a flu epidemic season dominated by the A(H1N1)pdm09 subtype. The intensity was slightly higher than the natural epidemic years before the COVID-19 epidemic, but it was still a seasonal epidemic level, lagging behind the previous winter and spring influenza seasons by about 2 months, there are regional differences from north to south.

About SINOVAC

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is China's leading biotech enterprise. With the mission of 'providing vaccines to eliminate diseases for humans', it is committed to the research of human vaccines and related products. Development, production and sales to provide services for global disease prevention and control.

The vaccines developed by SINOVAC mainly include vaccines against viral hepatitis, influenza, pneumonia, polio, chickenpox, mumps and other common infectious diseases, as well as vaccines against SARS, H5N1 avian influenza, H1N1 pandemic influenza, EV71 hand, foot and mouth disease, novel Vaccines for emerging and emerging infectious diseases such as coronavirus infections.

The company's current 4 vaccines have passed World Health Organization pre-certification (inactivated hepatitis A vaccine, Sabin strain inactivated polio vaccine, live attenuated chickenpox vaccine) or are included in the emergency use list (new coronavirus inactivated vaccine). The quality of the vaccines is The management system has been recognized by international organizations and multinational drug regulatory authorities.

SINOVAC is constantly exploring opportunities in the international market and has exported vaccines to dozens of countries and international organizations.

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Email: sinovac@sinovac.com

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