FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met in Silver Spring, Maryland, on February 28, 2012, to select the influenza viruses for the composition of the influenza vaccine for the 2012-2013 U.S. influenza season. During this meeting, the advisory committee reviewed and evaluated the surveillance data related to epidemiology and antigenic characteristics of recent influenza isolates, serological responses to 2011-2012 vaccines, and the availability of candidate strains and reagents.

The committee recommended that the trivalent formulation influenza vaccines for the U.S. 2012-2013 influenza season contain the following:

an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus;
an A/Victoria /361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus;
a B/Wisconsin /1/2010-like virus.

August 13, 2012 — The influenza vaccine for the 2012-2013 season will once again guard against the pandemic A(H1N1) virus from 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today.

Novel Version of Swine Flu Virus Not in the Mix

The FDA selected the 3 viral strains for the 2012-2013 seasonal influenza vaccine based on the recommendation of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee as well as advice from other experts at the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other institutions. Every year, these experts identify influenza strains most likely to circulate in the upcoming influenza season by scrutinizing current virus samples and global disease patterns.

Not making it into the 2012-2013 formulation is a novel version of a swine influenza virus called A(H3N2)v that has sickened more than 150 individuals across the country since July 2011. Most of them caught it directly or indirectly from pigs at county fairs and farms. In a few cases, however, the virus has been transmitted from person to person. The CDC is closely monitoring the novel swine influenza virus, which contains a gene from the pandemic A(H1N1) virus, to see if it begins to spread easily among humans. Just in case, the agency plans to test a special vaccine against the virus before year's end.