Post-disappearance scenarios: policy implications following the potential disappearance of B/Yamagata lineage influenza viruses

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and related preventive measures reduced influenza virus circulation, notably causing the disappearance of the B/Yamagata lineage of influenza viruses. In this Perspective, we discuss the implications that this development may have for global influenza epidemiology, and the adjustments that may need to be implemented concerning surveillance strategies and practices, laboratory safety protocols, and influenza vaccine formulations. The disappearance of the B/Yamagata lineage might indeed alter the dynamics of the influenza disease burden (although in a way that is difficult to predict at the moment), and associated diagnostic practices, and may also necessitate updated biosafety levels and revised influenza surveillance strategies. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended in September 2023 the exclusion of B/Yamagata antigens from future vaccines, with a shift towards trivalent vaccines or modified quadrivalent vaccines; this new scenario underscores the importance of robust global respiratory virus surveillance, effective communication with healthcare professionals and the population to maintain trust in vaccines, and a collaborative approach among health policymakers and vaccine manufacturers to navigate this epidemiological change.