International

Moderna reduces production of COVID-19 vaccine

September 13 |

Drugmaker Moderna announced Wednesday that it is scaling back manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine, an updated version of which was approved this week by U.S. regulators.

Moderna said the decision is driven by lower post-pandemic demand that will help the company reach its target of 75% to 80% gross revenue growth sooner.

Moderna is in talks with its partners that fill vials and syringes with its messenger RNA-based COVID vaccines globally to reduce production, Stephen Hoge, president of the Massachusetts-based company, said in an interview.

The reduction, Hoge added, will help Moderna adapt to the endemic phase of the disease, which had led to a drop in demand for COVID vaccines as buyers have reduced orders for injections.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Moderna predicted in August that U.S. demand for the vaccine would reach between 50 million and 100 million doses in the fall season. About 153.8 million COVID injections were administered in the U.S. in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“For the last two years, we’ve been in pandemic mode producing 1 billion doses a year,” Hoge said. “We’ve been waiting for the time when the pandemic is officially behind us and we need to restructure that manufacturing footprint.”

Following clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday, Moderna said it would begin shipping doses of the COVID vaccine throughout the United States.

The company has agreements to supply its vaccine to other countries, including Britain, Canada and Japan, but does not yet have an agreement with the European Union, according to Hoge, who also said COVID was the focus of Moderna’s manufacturing agreement with China.

Hoge added that while Moderna is urgently working to reduce COVID manufacturing, talks with third-party manufacturers, which will help produce the upcoming respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza vaccines that investors hope will begin to replace Moderna’s dwindling COVID revenues, could extend into next year.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

“These are relationships we will need for decades to come,” Hoge said.

Moderna also announced Wednesday that it had completed the regulatory filing for its RSV vaccine and that its flu vaccine had generated a stronger immune response against all four A and B strains of the virus compared with traditional flu vaccines in a late-stage trial.

The efficacy of Moderna’s flu vaccine was demonstrated in all age groups, including older patients, and proved to be safe and tolerable, according to the company.

Moderna also said it had found its vaccine to be equal or superior to Sanofi’s high-dose flu vaccine in a separate initial comparative study.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.