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US stops sharing flu data with WHO amidst one of its worst flu seasons

The US withdrawal from the World Health Organization formally takes one year, but the country has already stopped sharing influenza surveillance with the international body, which could impact the efficacy of the next flu vaccine

By Grace Wade

21 February 2025

Flu vaccination rates this year are on par with 2024 among adults, but have dipped in children

Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images

While the US declared its intention to leave the World Health Organization (WHO) on 20 January, the process of severing ties with the international public health body formally takes one year. Yet US health agencies have already retreated from nearly all coordinated global health efforts around influenza surveillance. The move could jeopardise the efficacy of the next batch of flu vaccines both for the US and the rest of the world.

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