ViVa News – February 2026 Update

Regulatory, policy, and manufacturer news WHO influenza vaccine composition: WHO issued its recommendations for the 2026–2027 Northern Hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccine composition on 26 February 2026, including the selection of strains and the recommendation to develop a new candidate vaccine virus for an A(H9N2) virus. Next generation influenza vaccines: The WHO highlighted modelling work suggesting that “next generation” and universal type influenza vaccines could avert millions of deaths; as of February 2026, 46 such vaccines are in clinical development across multiple platforms. Combined COVID-19/flu mRNA vaccine (Europe): EMA’s human medicines committee recommended approval of Moderna’s combination mRNA vaccine against influenza and COVID-19 for adults, offering a single-shot option; the product will become available EU-wide if the European Commission endorses the opinion. UK maternal immunisation update: Public Health England’s January 2026 “Vaccine update” (published 2 February) reported maternal seasonal influenza vaccine uptake of 38.5% up to 25 January 2026, about four percentage points higher than...