Moderna shares rose in premarket trading after the company announced FDA approval of its new lower-dose Covid-19 vaccine, mNEXSPIKE, for adults aged 65 and older, as well as individuals 12–64 with underlying health conditions. However, the approval sparked backlash on X, with many questioning the Trump administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “MAHA” (Make America Healthy Again) agenda.
Moderna said in a Saturday morning X post that the mNEXSPIKE (mRNA-1283) vaccine should be available in the U.S. in time for the 2025-26 respiratory virus season, which starts later this year.
“The FDA approval of our third product, mNEXSPIKE, adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19,” CEO Stéphane Bancel stated in a press release.
Bancel noted, “COVID-19 remains a serious public health threat, with more than 47,000 Americans dying from the virus last year alone. We appreciate the FDA’s timely review and thank the entire Moderna team for their hard work and continued commitment to public health.”
Last month, the FDA announced that Covid vaccines would not be offered this fall to healthy children and adults. At the same time, the Trump administration stated that any new Covid vaccines must undergo clinical trials using an inert placebo—such as saline—rather than being tested against existing approved vaccines.
Moderna’s X post was met with heavy backlash, as many users voiced outrage over the FDA’s approval, under Health Secretary RFK Jr., of yet another round of Covid vaccines.
Moderna’s social media team disabled comments on the post. Bottom line: people are furious:
- X user KAS14599753: “When your products are so safe and effective, you turn off the comments.”
- X user Dr Aseem Malhotra: “Complete and total madness. This company ( like Pfizer ) should be under investigation.”
- X user Gadsden2020: “Gee, I wonder why they don’t let everyone comment on this? Could it be that they know people aren’t buying their bullshit anymore? We know it’s only about the $$$.”
- X user DocAhmadMalik: “Thank you, Donald Trump, Bobby, Jay, and Aseem, for proving that you are in on the game or totally hopeless.”
