A comprehensive new study dismisses autism link with MMR vaccine, while Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine gains US approval amid ongoing vaccine debates, highlighting advances and challenges in public health.
Last week’s hearing with Anthony Fauci revived familiar efforts by Republicans to recast the pandemic as proof that vaccines, masking and distancing were all failures. That framing does not survive contact with the evidence. In a fresh study covering more than 2.5 million children, researchers found no link between the MMR vaccine and autism, reinforcing a body of work that public health agencies say has reached the same conclusion for years. According to the CDC and Gavi, multiple large studies have found no association between the MMR jab and autism spectrum disorders.
That matters because vaccine sceptics continue to shift the target whenever one claim is disproved. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently acknowledged in an interview that children should receive the MMR vaccine, before pivoting to suggestions that other shots, including DTaP and hepatitis B, must be responsible for autism diagnoses. Public health experts say that logic is equally unsupported, while the risks of skipping routine immunisations remain very real. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimates that tetanus still causes hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide each year, with especially heavy tolls among newborns and mothers in places where vaccination is harder to access.
There was more encouraging news on Wednesday, when the US Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine, mFlusiva, for adults aged 50 and over. The Associated Press reported that the shot outperformed conventional flu vaccines in a 40,000-person study, cutting flu cases by 27%. Moderna’s approach also offers a practical advantage: mRNA vaccines can be updated more quickly for new strains than egg-based flu shots.
The reaction online was predictably overheated, but the approval underscores how far vaccine technology has moved beyond the pandemic-era culture war. The FDA panel had already scrutinised the company’s data closely before backing the shot, with medical reporting noting that advisers examined the phase three results in detail before clearing the way for the regulator’s final decision.
Even the day’s media packaging reflected the strange moment the US is in. The New York Times drew attention by describing the confirmation of the CDC’s new director as news that she supports childhood vaccination, a formulation that says as much about the political climate as it does about the nominee. Anti-vaccination activists were quick to panic anyway, despite the fact that published reviews of post-vaccination deaths have found no basis for claims of mass harm. One 2022 analysis documented 55 reported deaths after COVID-19 vaccination, with causation ruled out in some cases and unproven in others, while the authors still concluded that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
