Life Sciences & Medicine Active Updated Aug 9, 2026
The first mRNA flu vaccine wins approval
The FDA approved mFlusiva, the first mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine, a year after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled 22 mRNA vaccine projects worth about 500 million dollars, calling the technology too risky. The stakes are whether mFlusiva's early trial advantage over standard flu shots holds up against real circulating strains, and whether the approval clears a path for other mRNA therapeutics beyond vaccines.
The story so far
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Aug 9, 2026 Latest
The FDA's approval of mFlusiva came exactly one year after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled 22 mRNA vaccine projects on August 5, 2025, after nine expert advisers he appointed voted unanimously that the vaccine's benefits outweigh its risks. Vox reported the 2024-25 flu season caused 51 million illnesses, 710,000 hospitalizations and 45,000 deaths in the US, more than car crashes that year, with infection carrying about six times the normal heart attack risk in the following week.
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Aug 7, 2026
The FDA approved mFlusiva, Moderna's mRNA seasonal flu vaccine for adults 50 and older, after a trial of nearly 41,000 people across 11 countries found it beat a standard flu shot by 26.6 percent overall and 27.4 percent in people 65 and older. The approval came a year after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled 22 mRNA vaccine projects worth about 500 million dollars, and followed FDA official Vinay Prasad initially refusing to review the file before reversing course and leaving the agency in April.
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