Despite President Donald Trump's prohibition on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention communicating with the World Health Organization, members of the former will be taking part in a vaccine webinar hosted by the latter.
A spokesperson for the CDC told the Daily Mail that agency employees "will be actively participating virtually" at the WHO conference on flu vaccines this week in London.
Under Trump's executive orders, the CDC was barred from communicating with the WHO as the United States begins its withdrawal from the global health agency. The president pointed to the WHO's failings during the COVID-19 pandemic and its close ties to China as reasons for withdrawing U.S. membership.
The Mail reported that the weeklong WHO conference opened on Monday with leaders from the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration in attendance. Neither agency announced publicly that they would attend.
Given Trump's quashing of communications with the WHO, it seems likely that both agencies would have had to seek approval to attend the event from his administration.
Newsmax reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
The WHO reportedly consults with an advisory panel of experts twice a year to analyze flu data from around the world and issue recommendations on the formulation for next season's flu vaccines.
Pharmaceutical companies and vaccine regulatory agencies then use the recommendations in developing, producing, and licensing the inoculations.
Vaccines for flu strains present in the Northern Hemisphere are the focus of this week's meeting at the Francis Crick Institute in London, according to the Mail, with the meeting for the Southern Hemisphere slated to take place in September.
Health experts were reportedly concerned about the potential for less effective flu vaccines if the U.S. skipped the meeting.
Flu viruses that pose a pandemic risk, like H5N1 bird flu, which is spreading throughout the U.S., are also considered by the WHO group.
World powers like the United States manufacture and stockpile vaccine supplies that are deployed in the event of these viruses becoming widespread in humans.
Trump's executive order last month did not immediately withdraw the U.S. from the WHO, as nations seeking to pull out of the global health agency are required to provide one-year's notice.
Congressional approval is also required, and the U.S. must meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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