The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine advisory committee voted Thursday to recommend an mRNA influenza vaccine. It’s the first flu vaccine that uses the same technology as COVID-19 shots.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A Food and Drug Administration committee endorsed the first flu vaccine that uses mRNA technology. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein has the story.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: MRNA technology was both glorified and vilified during the pandemic. But the important FDA committee voted unanimously in favor of the new mRNA flu vaccine, concluding that it may have some big advantages over traditional vaccines. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted that the benefits of the new mRNA flu vaccine outweigh any risks for adults age 50 and older. Dr. Flor Munoz-Rivas is on the committee. She’s an infectious disease expert at the Baylor College of Medicine.
FLOR MUNOZ-RIVAS: The studies that were presented today were very well conducted. They have very clear results that are very robust in terms of demonstrating that additional efficacy above what we know existing standard vaccines can provide.
STEIN: The fate of the vaccine is being closely watched because of the second Trump administration’s hostility towards mRNA technology in the wake of the pandemic. The administration cut funding for mRNA vaccine research, and the FDA initially refused to even consider the flu vaccine. But the agency quickly reversed that because of intense criticism, and the top officials who rejected the vaccine recently left the agency.
In addition to the vaccine providing potentially stronger protection, many public health and infectious disease experts are excited about the shot because mRNA vaccines can be produced much more reliably and quickly and can be updated much faster than traditional flu immunizations. That could make the mRNA vaccine far more effective when a new flu strain suddenly emerges, like it did this past season, and would be especially important if a flu pandemic erupted. Here’s Munoz-Rivas again.
MUNOZ-RIVAS: This also puts us in a position, having this technology available, to be better prepared for emerging strains or pandemic strains in the future.
STEIN: The FDA usually follows the advice of the agency’s advisory committees. But Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s in charge of the FDA, has long criticized vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines. If Kennedy does allow the FDA to greenlight the mRNA flu vaccine, Moderna, the company that makes the shot, says it could be available for the next flu season.
Rob Stein, NPR News.
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