Is this good because flu vaccines are an educated guess as to what will be circulating because it takes so long to culture them all and this will shorten the manufacturing time so the educated guess can take place later in the process (and be more accurate)?
FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
11–20 of 173 posts
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The subversion of scientific expertise to replace it with podcasters and political sycophants > The very concept of merit has been destroyed ... It's the subversion of truth. I think that way of saying it is more accurate, addresses the consequences, and is less occluded by jargon: People care about truth; 'scientific expertise' may seem esoteric to most people. I think HN is frequently part of that process: Merit…
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
Imagine being able to shut down discussion at the FDA because a few anonymous randos pushed a "flag" button when they saw something they disagreed with.
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The subversion of scientific expertise to replace it with podcasters and political sycophants > The very concept of merit has been destroyed ... It's the subversion of truth. I think that way of saying it is more accurate, addresses the consequences, and is less occluded by jargon: People care about truth; 'scientific expertise' may seem esoteric to most people. I think HN is frequently part of that process: Merit…
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
I’m curious why you claim he’s a fraud, I just learned about him from this thread.
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The subversion of scientific expertise to replace it with podcasters and political sycophants > The very concept of merit has been destroyed ... It's the subversion of truth. I think that way of saying it is more accurate, addresses the consequences, and is less occluded by jargon: People care about truth; 'scientific expertise' may seem esoteric to most people. I think HN is frequently part of that process: Merit…
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
> Vinay Prasad is a fraud
What’s with him being allowed to continue to practice at the University of California [1]?
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
Imagine being able to shut down discussion at the FDA because a few anonymous randos pushed a "flag" button when they saw something they disagreed with.
[dead]
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
Imagine being able to shut down discussion at the FDA because a few anonymous randos pushed a "flag" button when they saw something they disagreed with.
Apparently, the ‘fuck your feelings’ crowd DOES care about some ‘feelings’
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
I’m curious why you claim he’s a fraud, I just learned about him from this thread.
Prasad, to the extent he had a reputation before, was for critiquing the scientific practice as inadequate, which would hope that he'd bring the idea of rigor to his stint at the FDA. Instead, we see quite the opposite:
- This baffling Moderna decision, which is so bad that many in the industry assumed it was from a failed bribe solicitation
- Linked in this article is the "truly evil" decision requiring sham brain surgery in the placebo arm for a Huntington Disease trial https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/truly-evil-fda-reject...
- Prasad holding a defamatory PR event about the company producing the HD candidate treatment, and only talking "on background" to hide his identity, which is sleazy and unethical "The criticism apparently struck a nerve with Prasad. The FDA held a press briefing later Thursday in which an unnamed “senior FDA official”—who identified himself as a hematology-oncologist—launched into a diatribe against UniQure, saying its “failed therapy” was supported by “distorted and manipulated” data. As for Woodcock’s comments, the official said he “expect[s] better” from her." https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/03/trumps-divisive-fda-v...
- His first ouster and reinstatement last year, over a unilateral Duchenne muscular dystrophy decision, severely lacking in scientific rigor and analysis
- Lied on his CV about being on a highly prestigious council he was not on (The Cancer Letter is not a random YouTube channel, it's high quality cancer research journalism) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCASAb7J-LE&t=41
As is often the case with such contrarians and critics, their own critiques apply most aptly to themselves.
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
> Vinay Prasad is a fraud What’s with him being allowed to continue to practice at the University of California [1]? [1] https://vinayakkprasad.com/
That is a good question, and I'm sure many of the people at UCSF are asking similar questions. However, his sort of misconduct is not the type that would usually violate tenure protections. Beyond the minor CV fibbing, without some evidence that he actually, say, solicited a bribe from Moderna, it's unlikely that he can face any sort of official sanction.
The fraud is in his supposed thrust towards better scientific rigor when he is so sloppy with major decisions of life and death.
Just as the comment up there says that HN comments that are critical and misinformed get a lot of attention and upvotes, Prasad has been highly critical and misinformed about scientific research, and his stint at the FDA has exposed that his critiques are much like that top-level HN comment that doesn't get things quite right.
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The subversion of scientific expertise to replace it with podcasters and political sycophants > The very concept of merit has been destroyed ... It's the subversion of truth. I think that way of saying it is more accurate, addresses the consequences, and is less occluded by jargon: People care about truth; 'scientific expertise' may seem esoteric to most people. I think HN is frequently part of that process: Merit…
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
> Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA.
Yes, I started writing that and didn't finish the sentence (see my edit near the end of the GP).
But I don't let HN off the hook: The attitude I described in the GP represents and perpetrates the same outlook that politically supports or tolerates this behavior from the FDA. HN users generally legitimize that approach rather than discrediting it.
> Mention you work on drug development for big pharma to the random person and they think you're evil
I think that's paranoid: The random person won't know what that means. Few who know will also know or care about the social implications. Of those who do, only some will be knee-jerk critical of big pharma, and fewer still of research rather than the business side. It's also a victim perspective: Big Pharma has enormous power; punching up at power by questioning, criticizing, and being skeptical (or even cynical) is not at all the same thing as punching down at the vulnerable. If someone wants the power and resources and salary of Big Pharma, benefitting from its enormous power, the pushback and reputation impact comes with it (though the latter is usually positive - great resume material and credibility).
Re: FDA advisors unanimously vote to approve Moderna's mRNA after agency drama
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The subversion of scientific expertise to replace it with podcasters and political sycophants > The very concept of merit has been destroyed ... It's the subversion of truth. I think that way of saying it is more accurate, addresses the consequences, and is less occluded by jargon: People care about truth; 'scientific expertise' may seem esoteric to most people. I think HN is frequently part of that process: Merit…
How is discussion on HN different from the leadership levels at FDA? Very different. Decisions with enormous health implications, enormous financial implications, are made at FDA. At HN, most people are here to learn, here to understand more. Vinay Prasad is a fraud, completely unfit for the leadership role he was placed into, making baffling and arbitrary decisions on his own, overturning those with far more experie…
People making decisions at the FDA should also be actively learning and understanding more all the time.
That should be their primary objective.