25 Aug 2025 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): At a health symposium organized by Zydus Lifesciences in Bengaluru, Indian public health experts reaffirmed alignment with the World Health Organization’s updated influenza vaccination recommendations for the Northern Hemisphere 2025–26 season. These updates reflect global trends and mark a significant advance in India’s preventive healthcare approach.
Global Guideline Shift
According to WHO, the B/Yamagata influenza lineage has not been detected since March 2020, significantly reducing its relevance in vaccine composition. As a result, both the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended dropping the B/Yamagata component from quadrivalent influenza vaccines, opting for trivalent formulations instead. India’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has endorsed this move, urging adoption of updated vaccine strains to ensure better efficacy and production efficiency .
Why It Matters for India
Influenza poses a serious health risk in India—with an estimated 127,000 annual deaths, 65% of which affect people aged over 65, and 15–20% among children under five . Despite this, flu vaccination coverage remains alarmingly low at under 1.5%, compared to nearly 50% coverage in the U.S. and Europe . Experts emphasized the urgency of improving coverage, particularly for high-risk groups like the elderly, children, healthcare workers, and individuals with chronic conditions .
Challenges and Solutions
Influenza in India circulates year-round, with heightened activity during monsoon and winter. However, low surveillance and under-reporting make accurate mortality estimates difficult . At present, India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) does not include the influenza vaccine, largely due to financial constraints. One immunisation expert noted that expanding UIP to include flu shots would require approval and funding from the Ministry of Finance—a significant hurdle given India’s modest healthcare spending (1–1.6% of GDP) .
Moving Forward
Speakers at the symposium, including Dr. Sharvil Patel (Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences), stressed that prevention is foundational to public health. Vaccination reduces disease spread, severity, and healthcare burden, especially among vulnerable populations . There was a unified call for institutional policies to increase vaccination—particularly for healthcare workers— and for integrating flu shots into national immunisation efforts .
Summary
India has aligned with WHO’s revised flu vaccine guidelines, dropping the B/Yamagata strain and urging adoption of updated formulations. Experts call for increased annual vaccination of high-risk groups amid persistently low coverage.