An FDA advisory panel on Thursday unanimously endorsed the use of Moderna's trivalent flu vaccine candidate, which uses mRNA technology that's come under fire from the nation's top health official.
In two 9-0 votes, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee said the benefits of the mRNA vaccine outweigh its risks for preventing the flu in adults 50 to 64 years and in those 65 and up.
"I do believe the data presented support that the benefits of the vaccine in both age groups outweighed the risks," said Flor Munoz-Rivas, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Moderna's vaccine uses the mRNA platform it used to develop its lifesaving COVID shots, but under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr -- a prominent anti-vaccine activist before joining the federal government -- HHS cancelled $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine research in favor of what he called "safer" platforms.
But panelists pointed to discrete benefits of mRNA vaccines.
