All articles tagged with #flu vaccine
In a Phase 3 trial of more than 40,000 adults aged 50+, Moderna's mRNA influenza vaccine reduced illness to about 2.0% vs 2.8% for standard vaccines (roughly 27% more effective), with similar improvement in adults 65+. Side effects were mild. The FDA decision on licensure is expected by Aug. 5, as Moderna pursues approval; no mRNA flu vaccine is approved anywhere yet.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military will no longer require all troops to get the flu vaccine, framing it as medical autonomy and religious freedom. Service members can still opt in, and individual services may request to maintain the requirement within 15 days. The move follows the end of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in 2023 and comes amid a severe flu season; the Pentagon previously reinstated or re-accessed some personnel separated under the COVID-19 mandate, but overall vaccination rates among active-duty troops had been high.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the flu vaccine is no longer mandatory for U.S. troops, marking a shift in military health policy.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Defense Department will stop requiring service members to get a yearly flu shot, arguing the policy restores medical autonomy and freedom while vaccines remain available and recommended. He tied the change to opposing Biden-era Covid policies, calling the old mandate overly broad and not rational, and said vaccination should be voluntary with conscience and health considerations respected.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Department of Defense will make the annual influenza vaccine voluntary for all active and reserve service members and DoD civilians, ending the long-standing mandatory flu-shot policy and framing the move as restoring freedom and readiness; the change follows prior steps to scale back service-member vaccination mandates and maintains vaccination as a key readiness tool.
The Pentagon announced that active duty, reserve, and civilian U.S. military personnel will no longer be required to receive an annual flu vaccination, calling the previous mandate overly broad; the policy ends a long-standing requirement linked to readiness, with historical exemptions noted, and follows the rescission of the Covid-19 vaccine mandate, allowing discharged service members to potentially return under sworn attestations.
CDC data show this season’s flu vaccine was about 25%–30% effective at preventing illness requiring medical care for adults and roughly 40% for vaccinated children, due mainly to a newly dominant H3N2 subclade not well matched by the vaccine. An estimated 27 million illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations and 22,000 deaths have occurred; adult vaccination is about 46.5% and around 48% of kids have been vaccinated. Vaccination remains worthwhile to reduce severe illness, and next season’s vaccines will be updated to address the subclade.
Moderna says the FDA will review its experimental mRNA-based flu vaccine after resolving a public dispute, signaling movement toward potential regulatory consideration of the shot.
The FDA has agreed to review Moderna’s experimental mRNA flu vaccine after previously declining to file, with a decision due by August 5; Moderna seeks full approval for adults 50–64 and accelerated approval for 65+, contingent on a post‑marketing study, amid broader regulatory shifts and debate over vaccine oversight.
The FDA will review Moderna’s newly developed mRNA seasonal flu vaccine after a prior rejection over trial design, with no safety or efficacy concerns cited. Moderna says it has met with the FDA and proposed a revised regulatory pathway, seeking full approval for adults 50–64 and accelerated approval for 65+, potentially making the vaccine available for those 50+ in the 2026–2027 flu season if approved.
The FDA reversed its earlier decision and will review Moderna’s new mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older, using a standard pathway for ages 50–64 and accelerated approval for those 65+, with a required post‑marketing study and a target review date of August 5.
The FDA declined to review Moderna’s experimental mRNA flu vaccine, citing an allegedly inadequate trial design for adults 65 and older that used a standard-dose control instead of a high-dose option, prompting critics to allege an anti-vaccine agenda and a chilling effect on vaccine development; Moderna and its supporters argue the design was approved and that higher-dose controls should have informed the analysis.
Childhood flu vaccine uptake fell 1.5 percentage points nationally as of Jan. 3, continuing a multi-year decline, amid a Kennedy-era overhaul of federal vaccine guidance that urges parents to consult doctors before vaccinating, drawing criticism from medical groups.
A preschool-age child in Virginia died from flu-related complications, the state’s first pediatric flu death this season. The Virginia Department of Health notes ongoing flu activity and low vaccination rates, urges eligible residents to get vaccinated, and highlights the presence of a highly contagious H3N2 subclade (subclade K) while vaccines remain protective against severe illness.
The US has revised its childhood vaccine schedule, now recommending fewer vaccines for flu, hepatitis A and B, and RSV, aligning with peer countries, and bypassing the usual approval process, under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s initiatives.