Science by press release: Moderna cashes in on mRNA cancer vaccine without publishing trial results
"These corporations have learned how to play the medical-scientific establishment like a Stradivarius," Johns Hopkins cardiology operations chief says after Moderna share price spikes. Its mRNA flu vaccine trial data are still hidden.
Greg Piper - August 23, 2026 1:47am
When the Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine, the first ever, two weeks ago, the pharmaceutical company that reaped billions from federal taxpayers with its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine didn't wait for the agency to even publicly post the approval. Moderna rushed out the news at 10 p.m., with a 4% increase in its share price the next morning.
It was a promising market signal for a drugmaker whose revenue cratered following the collapse in demand for COVID vaccines, which also led Pfizer to cancel a trial this spring for its own updated mRNA COVID jab.
What Moderna left out of the release Wednesday, and the media ignored: the mRNA flu jab's disproportionately high rate of serious adverse events compared to a normal flu shot – the same problem with its Omicron-specific COVID vaccine three years ago – and the number of jabs required to prevent a single hospitalization, 5,000.
Yet the market and the media went crazy for Moderna this week when it announced "positive topline results" from a late-stage trial of its cancer vaccine with Merck, with a 177% spike in its share price on top of a 357% increase this year before the cancer vaccine news, despite no published trial data or FDA approval.
--Science by press release: Moderna cashes in on mRNA cancer vaccine without publishing trial results | Just The News
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/science-press-release-moderna-cashes-mrna-cancer-vaccine-while-hiding-trial
--Sun Aug 23 2026 13:52:03 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)
entryreqrd
npub134…94q44
2026-08-23 12:01:15 UTC
Author Public Key
npub134eu5chku2u0ludz8pgw0vdsyxql8wj0ykhdv0l04w4k5q6xqd3s994q44Seen on
wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2026-08-23 12:01:15 UTCEvent JSON
{
"id": "b125231eca00dfb807f51ccb2f9e8d2f35a2454ea048fa56cb1ee53f8518f30e",
"pubkey": "8d73ca62f6e2b8fff1a23850e7b1b02181f3ba4f25aed63fefabab6a03460363",
"created_at": 1787486475,
"kind": 1,
"tags": [
[
"proxy",
"https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1938231813910781952",
"web"
],
[
"proxy",
"https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/816802141879410694/entities/urn:activity:1938231813910781952",
"activitypub"
],
[
"L",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"l",
"pink.momostr.activitypub:https://www.minds.com/api/activitypub/users/816802141879410694/entities/urn:activity:1938231813910781952",
"pink.momostr"
],
[
"-"
]
],
"content": "Science by press release: Moderna cashes in on mRNA cancer vaccine without publishing trial results\n\n\"These corporations have learned how to play the medical-scientific establishment like a Stradivarius,\" Johns Hopkins cardiology operations chief says after Moderna share price spikes. Its mRNA flu vaccine trial data are still hidden.\n\nGreg Piper - August 23, 2026 1:47am \n\nWhen the Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna's mRNA flu vaccine, the first ever, two weeks ago, the pharmaceutical company that reaped billions from federal taxpayers with its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine didn't wait for the agency to even publicly post the approval. Moderna rushed out the news at 10 p.m., with a 4% increase in its share price the next morning.\n\nIt was a promising market signal for a drugmaker whose revenue cratered following the collapse in demand for COVID vaccines, which also led Pfizer to cancel a trial this spring for its own updated mRNA COVID jab. \n\nWhat Moderna left out of the release Wednesday, and the media ignored: the mRNA flu jab's disproportionately high rate of serious adverse events compared to a normal flu shot – the same problem with its Omicron-specific COVID vaccine three years ago – and the number of jabs required to prevent a single hospitalization, 5,000.\n\nYet the market and the media went crazy for Moderna this week when it announced \"positive topline results\" from a late-stage trial of its cancer vaccine with Merck, with a 177% spike in its share price on top of a 357% increase this year before the cancer vaccine news, despite no published trial data or FDA approval. \n\n--Science by press release: Moderna cashes in on mRNA cancer vaccine without publishing trial results | Just The News \n\nhttps://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/science-press-release-moderna-cashes-mrna-cancer-vaccine-while-hiding-trial \n--Sun Aug 23 2026 13:52:03 GMT+0200 (Central European Summer Time)",
"sig": "d38dd7a5390c4bc22c170c6ca4258387d10c183e22978e5f2975d93eceacea06f07f8908ec7409330c1581857dfcba8f8ed3e1b5a3fd7ccc9284ea24fee50f96"
}