[pfannkuchen]

Presumably it may be rescheduled? Let's say personnel is in flux at the moment. Might make sense to bump out an important meeting until things stabilize?

There is so much breathless hysteria in the media predicting or implying a prediction, and when 99% of it fails to materialize there is never a follow up.

[dashundchen]

Well considering the FDA gave no information or plans to reschedule to committee members that seems unlikely.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/us/politics/fda-flu-vacci...

> The F.D.A. sent an email to members of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Monday afternoon informing them of the cancellation, according to a senior official familiar with the decision. There was no reason given. The panel was to meet March 13.

> One committee member, Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, an outspoken critic of Mr. Kennedy, confirmed the cancellation and warned that it could interfere with or delay production of flu vaccines.

> “It’s a six-month production cycle,” Dr. Offit said. “So one can only assume that we’re not picking flu strains this year.”

Considering the flu kills tens of thousands every year and hospitalized hundreds of thousands more, with the potential of evolving to be more lethal - yes this is important.

If the Trump, GOP and Musk fucked up staffing by firing people who have the expertise to make these decisions, yes they are at fault. If RFK Jr is interfering with this for his anti-vax and anti-science crusade, he is also at vault.

[pfannkuchen]

> “So one can only assume”

They are “assuming” a major unannounced policy change based on… a single meeting cancelation. By this cause/effect protocol, I have personally witnessed dozens of multi billion dollar project cancellations, or so I assume.

RFK Jr has never proposed canning the vaccine program. He wants certain studies performed, which presumably would run in parallel with the existing program.

The constant hysteria really makes me want to quit the internet. It seems to get worse every year.

[fzeroracer]

It's a highly time sensitive meeting around setting manufacturing targets for the upcoming flu season. It's the kind of thing that when delayed causes actual adverse problems as opposed to cancelling a sprint standup or whatever.

[oefnak]

Could it be possible you are wrong, and it is as bad as everyone here seems to think?

[dekhn]

I find (after a verrrrry long time of arguing with people on the internet), when somebody acts as obtuse as the person you're replying to, they really aren't ignorant, they're trolling, or looking for an emotional argument. One of the common tells is making an obtuse statement that's fairly vague (to draw out responses) and then writing long replies to those that show much more cynicism/disingenous, which provoke people further, followed by "see! this is just an example of how deluded the people who disagree with me are!"

[jdhendrickson]

have you considered the possibility that despite sanewashing this, it is really a problem? That the current administration is not normal? That perhaps there really is cause for alarm?

[biophysboy]

What studies is he proposing that have not been done many times before?

The articles are not hysterical and give good info, such as:

- vaccines take 6 months to make

- FDA spokesperson did not respond for comment

- its not the first meeting to be cancelled

- an earlier CDC quarterly meeting was postponed to accommodate "public comment"

[maxerickson]

The anti vaccine movement that RFK Jr grifts off of is the hysteria.

Worrying about the grifter crank harming public health is level headed...

[EasyMark]

you don't cancel something on short notice and not provide a follow up date. That's not the way any of this works. It's not "breathless", they literally picked an antivaxxer to head up the US government's health agency. That's not breathless either, it's a fact, backed by years of evidence. They are trying to dismantle all programs that help the general populace. The people heading up this charge want everything to be in the hands of private millionaires and billionaires. Merely look at whom was picked to head up this stuff. I don't think anyone paying attention can miss something so obvious

[biophysboy]

What media coverage would you approve of?