FDA approves Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine, the first to use the technology
6 August 2026 · filed under 18e1a10aeddb
The Food and Drug Administration has approved Moderna’s influenza vaccine, marking the first licensed flu shot manufactured with messenger RNA technology, according to STAT News. The approval, dated in the outlet’s August 5 report, extends the mRNA platform beyond COVID-19, where it first reached wide public use, into a second major category of vaccination.
STAT News reports the shot as Moderna’s mFlu candidate, now cleared for use against seasonal influenza. The publication frames the approval as a foundational shift in how mRNA technology is deployed against mutating viruses, noting the platform’s underlying premise, that it can be reprogrammed against new viral targets faster than conventional egg based or cell based flu vaccine manufacturing allows.
No dosing schedule, trial efficacy figures, or age group specifics appear in the available reporting. The source material does not indicate when the vaccine will reach clinics, nor does it compare it directly against existing seasonal flu vaccines beyond noting the change in underlying technology.
The approval represents Moderna’s second major mRNA product to reach the American market, following its coronavirus vaccine. STAT News characterizes the flu shot’s clearance as evidence that the mRNA approach, once confined to a single pandemic pathogen, is now expanding into the broader vaccine landscape used each year against seasonal illness.