New Delhi, June 26 -- WASHINGTON - In February, the Food and Drug Administration said it would not review Moderna's application for the first messenger RNA influenza vaccine in the United States. Eight weeks later, the same agency's top vaccine experts voted unanimously to recommend it.

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 9-0 on June 18 to endorse Moderna's mFlusiva, formally known as mRNA-1010, for adults aged 50 and older, according to NPR. The FDA has until August 5 to decide whether to approve the shot, which would be the first licensed mRNA-based seasonal influenza vaccine in United States history.

The reversal was not routine. The February refusal came months after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has s...