FDA approves first mRNA influenza vaccine
In a reverse of course, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved the first mRNA vaccine for the influenza (flu) virus, specifically for adults ages 50 and up. This approval comes after the FDA initially refused to review the vaccine in Feb., then reversed that decision a mere two weeks later. This vaccination, produced by the pharmaceutical company Moderna, follows the same production and composition concept as the COVID-19 vaccines and carries many of the same benefits. It was about 27% more effective during the 2024–25 respiratory virus season than standard flu shots in Moderna’s study, which enrolled over 40,000 adults aged 50 and older. This is due to a shorter development time needed for mRNA vaccines than traditional vaccines. Science like this allows researchers to respond faster to evolving flu strains each season instead of relying on extended prediction models to guess which strains will be prominent each year. Other possibilities on the horizon include Pfizer’s version of a mRNA flu vaccine and a Moderna combination flu and COVID-19 vaccine, approved in Europe earlier this year. Although the Moderna mRNA flu vaccine is not currently approved for use in the majority of RIT’s student population due to the age range restrictions, any FDA approval is a promising step forward for those hopeful to see mRNA vaccines become available for more than just COVID-19, especially with an administration hesitant to invest in and approve advancements in these fields.
Vassar College agrees to $5 million settlement in discrimination lawsuit
Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY — the second institution for women in the nation that granted degrees equal in value to those for men — has agreed to pay $5 million as part of the settlement of a gender-pay disparity class-action lawsuit involving more than 80 women faculty members. As a part of the settlement, Vassar must also take actions to make pay and general compensation processes more transparent. This includes, but is not limited to, commissioning annual equal pay audits by an independent third-party source and reporting annually to the co-lead counsels for the Plaintiffs on their progress.
This suit came in response to years of a gender pay gap that the college had allegedly known about but refused to address. It was joined by letters of support from not only most of the women full faculty, but a statement of support from many men full professors, women and men junior faculty and students and alumni. Despite Vassar College’s best efforts, the suit was not dismissed in U.S. District Court, and after three years of proceedings, all that is left is for the court to approve the settlement.
Ben and Jerry’s Foundation announces shutdown amidst legal battle
The well-loved ice cream brand of Student Alumni Union fame (and beyond) has for the past 40 years been funding the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation — dedicated to supporting the political activism and progressive values the company was based on. Ben and Jerry’s Foundation received $60 million since the 2000 Unilever merger to distribute in grants to organizations in need. However, in Nov. 2024, The Magnum Ice Cream Co. — a subsidiary of Unilever — and Ben and Jerry’s began a face-off over governance decisions and who had final say as per the merger agreement, along with the political stance of the Ben and Jerry’s company. For the Foundation, this reached a crisis point in April 2025, when Unilever looked to them as the next stepping stone in their path to political neutrality.
Unilever conducted an audit, finding conflicts of interest and a lack of interior governance and financial control. Ben and Jerry’s Foundation employees rebuke this claim, stating that they have been having independent audits done yearly and those sorts of large-scale issues would have been found. Magnum evicted Ben and Jerry’s Foundation employees from their physical office and are pulling funding. The Foundation’s leaders responded by joining the ongoing lawsuit against Magnum, and the Foundation itself will shutter by the end of the year if it does not regain cash flow from its overseers.
