Next generation influenza vaccines could save millions says WHO

Next generation influenza vaccines that provide broader and longer-lasting protection than existing seasonal vaccines could play a vital role in reducing the global burden of influenza, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) assessment.

The new WHO Full Value of Improved Influenza Vaccine Assessment (FVIVA) and Vaccine journal article evaluate the health, economic, and policy impacts of next-generation influenza vaccines and identify future barriers to their global uptake. They provide a basis to guide investment, policy decisions, and introduction strategies—supporting stronger seasonal influenza programs and enhanced pandemic preparedness.

Each year, there are about a billion cases of seasonal influenza worldwide, with 3 to 5 million cases resulting in severe illness and an estimated 290,000 to 650,000 deaths due to respiratory complications.

While current influenza vaccines help reduce the burden of disease, their effectiveness can vary by season, product, and population group. Protection is limited to one season. Twice a year, the WHO convenes experts from the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System to issue recommendations for the influenza vaccine strain composition. While 143 countries have reported to the WHO that they have seasonal influenza vaccines available, upper-middle and high-income countries utilize the majority of influenza vaccine doses.

The FVIVA estimates that if improved, next-generation, or universal influenza vaccines are available and widely used between 2025 and 2050, they could prevent up to 18 billion cases of influenza and save up to 6.2 million lives globally, particularly among people at higher risk of severe disease, such as older adults, young children, and pregnant women.

"This assessment makes clear the potential benefits that improved influenza vaccines could offer across different settings,” said Dr. Philipp Lambach, WHO technical lead of the project. “It provides all those working on future influenza vaccine investments, policy development, and research priorities with a common set of evidence to catalyze vaccine development.”

The study also shows that in many countries, these influenza vaccines could continue to be cost-effective or even cost-saving, while also contributing to reduced antimicrobial use. Influenza vaccine uptake also reduces antimicrobial resistance, with the current use estimated to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use by 10 million doses a year. Next-generation influenza vaccines could avert up to 1.3 billion defined daily doses of antibiotics between 2025 and 2050, significantly contributing to the fight against increasing antimicrobial resistance globally.

The potential impact of improved influenza vaccines will depend on the context, including the national disease burden, health system capacity, vaccine pricing, and programmatic considerations. Safety, efficacy, duration of protection, temperature stability, and shelf life of next-generation influenza vaccines will also influence adoption decisions in low- and middle-income countries.

The Full Value of Vaccine Assessment framework is designed to support evidence-informed dialogue among governments, researchers, manufacturers, and partners by providing a comprehensive overview of the potential value of improved vaccines and the considerations relevant to their development and use.

The FVIVA aligns with WHO's Global Influenza Strategy 2019–2030 and WHO's preferred product characteristics for next-generation influenza vaccines, reflecting the evolving scientific knowledge and experience gained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2025, the World Health Organization released updated Preferred Product Characteristics to guide the development of safer and more effective influenza vaccines. These vaccines should provide broader and longer-lasting protection that extends beyond a single flu season, offer better defense against severe illnesses, and be suitable for use in low- and middle-income countries. The guidance also emphasizes the necessity for vaccine technologies that can be transferred to manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to aid local production.

The FVIVA represented a strong collaboration between WHO and international experts working on improved, next-generation, and universal influenza vaccines. As of February 2026, there are 46 next-generation influenza vaccines in clinical development using diverse technology platforms, as reported by the Influenza Vaccines R&D Roadmap.

Further analyses have also been published in a supplement of the Vaccine journal.

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