For older adults, the flu vaccine could look a little different this year.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the nation’s first mRNA-based flu vaccine for use in people 50 and older. The vaccine, developed by Moderna, builds off the mRNA technology used in many Covid-19 vaccines.
This first-of-its-kind mRNA flu vaccine has faced a bumpy road to approval amid a political climate not friendly to the technology: The Trump administration has cut funding for mRNA vaccine development, and the FDA initially declined Moderna’s request to review the vaccine. But the agency’s independent vaccine advisers unanimously voted in June that the new vaccine’s benefits outweigh its risks.
MODERNA MET WITH FDA OFFICIALS AFTER THE AGENCY INITIALLY REJECTED ITS APPLICATION FOR A NEW MRNA FLU VACCINE.
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