All posts tagged: mRNA

If a bird flu pandemic starts, we may have an mRNA vaccine ready

If a bird flu pandemic starts, we may have an mRNA vaccine ready

Published by skeptic

A vaccine now in development could help in the event of a bird flu pandemic Weyo / Alamy It was roughly a year after the earliest cases of covid-19 before the first vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus were ready for roll-out. By then millions had died worldwide and economies were devastated. In the advent of a bird flu pandemic, we will be able to react more rapidly, because we should have an mRNA vaccine already approved and ready to go. A phase III trial of a such a vaccine is now getting under way in the UK and the US. “A flu pandemic is the most likely future pandemic. And it’s really critical that we ensure we’re properly prepared,” says Richard Pebody at the UK Health Security Agency. The main threat is a strain of H5N1 bird flu called clade 2.3.4.4b. It has spread globally in wild birds since evolving around a decade ago, even reaching the Antarctic. Many wild mammals have been infected by wild birds and it has often spread to poultry farms. …

The truth about ‘turbo cancer’ and mRNA vaccines as misinformation threatens progress

The truth about ‘turbo cancer’ and mRNA vaccines as misinformation threatens progress

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Scientists are making rapid progress toward a long-awaited goal that could help to reshape cancer care: mRNA cancer vaccines with the potential to significantly boost the immune system’s ability to fight and eliminate tumors. Since the early 2000s, there have been over 120 promising clinical trials testing the use of mRNA vaccines to treat multiple cancer types, such as melanoma, brain, breast, lung and prostate cancer. At the same time, misinformation about so-called turbo cancer began spreading widely on social media, with mainstream media outlets first reporting on it in late 2022. Turbo cancer refers to the false claim that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines cause unusually aggressive cancers. As a researcher in health communication who monitors cancer-related conversations online, I have seen how quickly new misinformation can spread and the impact it can have on people’s health decisions. In the case of …

FDA agrees to review Moderna’s mRNA flu shot : NPR

FDA agrees to review Moderna’s mRNA flu shot : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The Food and Drug Administration said it would review vaccine maker Moderna’s application for a new kind of flu shot after the company agreed to further study it in older people. Bill Sikes/AP hide caption toggle caption Bill Sikes/AP The Food and Drug Administration rattled the biotech industry last week when it said it wouldn’t even look at Moderna’s application to market the first mRNA flu shot. But on Wednesday, the agency reversed course and told Moderna it would review the application with some changes. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary hinted during a Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America event on Tuesday that the agency’s refuse-to-file letter to Moderna wasn’t the end for the company’s shot. “That letter, in my mind, is part of the conversation where you’ll see a dialogue between the company and the agency, and they can always, after that letter, ask for the more detailed review,” he said during the PhRMA Forum in Washington, D.C. “But that’s part of the process. That’s a conversation.” The FDA’s reversal, however, didn’t reassure health economist …

Benefits of mRNA cancer vaccines could exceed billion in US alone

Benefits of mRNA cancer vaccines could exceed $75 billion in US alone

Published by skeptic

The mRNA cancer vaccines now in development come with large economic benefits Eugene/Getty Images In August 2025, the US cut half a billion dollars in funding for vaccine development. This put the potential benefits of mRNA cancer vaccines at risk – benefits that could be worth around $75 billion a year in the US alone, according to an estimate by Alison Galvani at Yale University and her colleagues. “The therapeutic progress demonstrated by each of the clinical trials in our analysis has the potential to avert nearly 50,000 deaths, with an economic value of $75 billion,” the team writes. “These estimates represent only a single annual cohort of patients treated for their respective cancer.” Curtailing federal investment in mRNA vaccine technology risks forfeiting these benefits, the researchers warn. Many of the most effective cancer treatments developed recently are based on boosting the body’s immune response to tumours. mRNA vaccines can be used to stimulate the immune system to target proteins found on cancerous cells – and because they can be created so quickly, they can …