WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO) today sent letters to five top agency officials following up on the committee’s investigation of this season’s ineffective flu vaccine. The subcommittee held a hearing on Feb. 3, 2015, in the midst of this year’s harsh flu season and the poor vaccine match, to discuss the public health response to seasonal influenza.
The leaders write, “We believe understanding the lessons from this influenza season could improve the U.S. public health response in the future, particularly to a severe influenza season with a mismatched vaccine, and possibly save thousands of lives." The leaders have agency-specific questions about how the administration can more effectively plan for and adapt to the flu season. Public health officials have already indicated that this year’s prominent strain, H3N2, will be included in next year’s vaccine.
The letters were sent to:
* Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
* Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration
* Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
* Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health
* Dr. Robin Robinson of Director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority at the Department of Health and Human Services
Read the complete letters online HERE.
