WHO | Week Ahead for media - 20 February

No images? Click here Friday, 20 February 2026  | Issue 341   Subscribe to receive this weekly update   Health workers, seasonal influenza vaccination campaign in Kyrgyzstan, November 2022  © WHO / Arete / Maxime Fossat   Friday, 27 February Composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2026-2027 northern hemisphere influenza season On 27 February 2026, WHO will announce the composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2026-2027 northern hemisphere influenza season.  The recommendations are used by the national vaccine regulatory agencies and the pharmaceutical companies to develop, produce and license influenza vaccines. Recommended updates to vaccines for pandemic preparedness will also be announced. The announcement will follow a 4-day consultation with an advisory group of experts in Istanbul, Türkiye. This meeting is held twice annually, once for the southern, and once for the northern hemisphere.  An information session for stakeholders will be held after the meeting, and will be streamed on WHO's YouTube channel at 12.00 TRT/10.00 CET/09.00 GMT on 27 February. A virtual press conference will follow; a media advisory with further details will be sent later. Other WHO events of interest (full list here) Breaking barriers: advancing health equity for persons with disabilities in HIV care and treatment (webinar), 26 February How advanced technologies are transforming development, evaluation and manufacturing of medical countermeasures for epidemics and pandemics, 26 and 27 February Look ahead (the following week): Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment on the use of omics-based technologies in microbiological risk assessment, 2 to 6 March World Hearing Day, 3 March Target product profiles for new antibacterial agents, 3 March   Latest news from WHO here WHO events here Sign up for our newsletters here WHO photos available for media use here WHO media contacts: mediainquiries@who.int You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list. If you have been forwarded this update you can click here to subscribe. Do not reply to media@campaign.who.int as it is an unmonitored mailbox. Journalists may write to mediainquiries@who.int.         Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1202 Geneva 27, Switzerland  Unsubscribe