Zydus Lifesciences held a health symposium at Bengaluru to create a convergence of leading healthcare professionals who spoke on the transition to a new influenza vaccination guideline, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Northern hemisphere 2025-26.
Global influenza remains a significant public health concern, causing an estimated 400,000 respiratory and 300,000 deaths across the world annually (1). In the US and Europe, almost 50 per cent of the population is vaccinated for seasonal flu annually (1). India, which leads the universal immunisation programme (UIP), has been able to counter several debilitating childhood vaccine-preventable diseases. However, in India, the flu vaccination is an unmet need and has less than 1.5 per cent of the population getting vaccinated.
Dr Sharvil Patel, Managing Director, Zydus Lifesciences, said, “Good health starts with prevention, and vaccines play a key role in protecting people and improving health. Influenza continues to pose a recurring challenge, leading to seasonal outbreaks and placing a considerable burden on healthcare systems. Vaccination plays a vital role in reducing the spread of infection, lowering the severity of disease, and preventing complications, especially among high-risk and vulnerable groups.”
As per WHO’s 2025-26 recommendations of NH strains, the persistent absence of naturally occurring B/Yamagata lineage viruses since March 2020 indicates a very low risk of infection (2). Consequently, the inclusion of a B/Yamagata antigen in quadrivalent influenza vaccines is no longer considered necessary. Aligning with this, the CDC has excluded the B/Yamagata component from all U.S. influenza vaccines starting with the 2024–25 season (3). This decision reflects global surveillance data and aims to streamline vaccine composition for improved efficacy and production efficiency.
National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), India, has also recommended following the WHO guidelines to adopt the latest strain of the vaccine, to prevent influenza and influenza-like illnesses, which is emerging as a serious health concern (4). The disease disproportionately affects vulnerable populations such as infants, the elderly, and individuals with chronic conditions.
Seasonal influenza infections happen in India throughout the year, with twin peaks during the monsoon and winter seasons (5). Every year, influenza causes substantial disease and deaths, but estimating the number of deaths due to influenza is challenging as routine testing and robust surveillance for influenza is not carried out, and it is rarely certified as a cause of death (5). Significantly, out of 1.27 lakh deaths attributed to influenza per year, almost 65 per cent of the deaths occurred among older persons above 65 years and 15-20 per cent were among children under five (5). This necessitates annual vaccinations of the defined target groups with a vaccine composition depending on the current circulating strains.
References
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal), downloaded from internet, last accessed on 22/08/2025 at 13:11 hrs.
- Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2025-2026 northern hemisphere influenza season; downloaded from internet; last accessed on 22/08/2025 at 13:14 hrs.
- Trivalent Influenza Vaccines | Influenza (Flu) | CDC downloaded from internet; last accessed on 22/08/2025 at 13:16 hrs.
- Seasonal Influenza – National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) downloaded from internet; last accessed on 22/08/2025 at 13:19 hrs.
- Krishnan A. Need for a robust public health response to seasonal influenza in India. Indian J Med Res. 2023 May;157(5):421-426. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_184_23. PMID: 37955218; PMCID: PMC10443721.