Since flu vaccines are most protective when the influenza season is intense, the timing of getting the annual vaccination is essential.
Unlike most flu seasons, predicting when the 2021-2022 flu season will reach the USA from the Southern Hemisphere is unknown, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine committee on June 24, 2021. The CDC recently reported influenza cases were lower this year than any flu season since 2005.

A global leader in influenza prevention announced that the company co-authored the first study to demonstrate the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy profile of a COVID-19 vaccine when co-administered with a seasonal influenza vaccine.
Maryland-based Novavax, Inc. conducted the sub-study as part of a Phase 3 clinical trial of NVX-CoV2373, its recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Every year, influenza viruses cause substantial morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and neonates, stated an editorial published by The Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA).
To reduce influenza incidence in these vulnerable populations, the World Health Organization recommended in 2012 that countries prioritize pregnant women for influenza vaccination annually. 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today, the 2020-2021 influenza season has begun to accelerate in the pediatric population.
The CDC confirmed on May 14, 2021, the percentages of provider visits in Week #18 continued to increase for one age group (0–4 years) and remained stable for the remaining age groups compared with Week #17. 
About 6% of provider visits for children were related to the seasonal flu.

The Journal of General Internal Medicine published a study by physician-researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) that assessed the relative impact of COVID-19 on patients hospitalized with the viral infection versus patients hospitalized with influenza.
COVID-19 and influenza are both contagious respiratory viral diseases that can lead to pneumonia and acute respiratory failure in severe cases, says the U.S. CDC.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a review of the zoonotic influenza virus activity and virus characterization and describes the current status of the development of vaccine candidates for pandemic preparedness purposes. 
The development of influenza candidate vaccine viruses, coordinated by WHO, remains an essential component of the overall global strategy for influenza pandemic preparedness.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the influenza vaccine selection committee finalized its recommendations for the Northern Hemisphere's 2021-22 flu season.
These recommendations were made within the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, record-low levels of influenza detections were reported, and fewer viruses were available for characterization during September 2020 to January 2021 time period than in previous years, said the WHO.

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) announced an agreement to expand their existing collaboration to include the research and development of new therapies for influenza and other respiratory viruses.

A recent study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found that the risk of death from COVID-19 was 3.5 times higher than from the seasonal flu.
"We can now say that COVID-19 is much more severe than seasonal influenza," said Dr. Amol Verma, St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and the University of Toronto, in a press statement.

An experimental single-dose, intranasal influenza vaccine candidate, was found safe and produced a durable immune response when tested in a Phase 1 study, announced the National Institutes of Health.
This study was sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation on February 2, 2021.