Vaccine composition

The World Health Organisation (WHO) makes annual recommendations on the compositions of influenza vaccines for each hemisphere. These are based on the available data on the antigenic and genetic characteristics of recently circulating viruses and antibody responses to recent vaccines.

The recommendations from each WHO meeting are given below.

February 2024

The WHO recommends that trivalent vaccines for use in the 2024-2025 northern hemisphere influenza season contain the following: 

For egg-based vaccines

  • an A/Victoria/4897/2022 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
  • an A/Thailand/8/2022 (H3N2)-like virus; and
  • a B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus.

For cell culture- or recombinant-based vaccines

  • an A/Wisconsin/67/2022 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
  • an A/Massachusetts/18/2022 (H3N2)-like virus; and
  • a B/Austria/1359417/2021 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus.

For quadrivalent egg- or cell culture-based or recombinant vaccines for use in the 2024-2025 northern hemisphere influenza season, while the B/Yamagata lineage vaccine component should be excluded as it is no longer warranted, where quadrivalent vaccines are still in use, the B/Yamagata lineage component remains unchanged:  

For egg-, cell- or recombinant-based vaccines

  • a B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage)-like virus. 

Earlier recommendations