Influenza vaccines can change from year to year as new strains of influenza virus appear. This is one reason vaccination against influenza is given every year.
The Australian Influenza Vaccine Committee (AIVC) has reviewed data related to epidemiology, antigenic and genetic characteristics of recent influenza isolates circulating in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, serological responses to previous year's vaccines, and the availability of candidate vaccines viruses and reagents. Based on this review and the World Health Organization's recommendation, the AIVC recommended the following viruses be used for influenza vaccines in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season.
The TGA has accepted the recommendations of AIVC. This year there is a new A strain (H3N2) and a new strain for the B Victoria lineage. Details of the strains were announced on the TGA website on 15 October 2018.
The Influenza virus strains that are included in the 2019 southern hemisphere seasonal influenza vaccines are listed below.
The egg-based quadrivalent influenza vaccines contain the following four viral strains:
- an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus
- an A/Switzerland/8060/2017 (H3N2)-like virus
- a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage)
- a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage)
The egg-based trivalent influenza vaccines contain the following three viral strains:
- an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
- an A/Switzerland/8060/2017 (H3N2)-like virus; and
- a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage)
