The US government has given Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA-based pandemic flu vaccine that could work against bird flu.
Says she wants to be “better prepared” for future public health crises, having learned lessons from Covid.
‘Functional vaccine’ to be rolled out quickly
Bird flu is not a major threat to humansdespite outbreaks in poultry and cattle. But experts want a working vaccine that can be rolled out quickly, should the virus mutate and become a problem.
Making a vaccine using mRNA technology – which the company’s Covid vaccine is based on – is faster than previous methods.
The US government says adding this technology to its pandemic flu toolbox increases its ability to be “agile and fast” against the virus.
Funding from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will be used to complete late-stage development and testing of Moderna’s H5N1 avian influenza vaccine.
This strain has been present in birds for yearsbut some other animals, including cattle, have been infected in recent outbreaks.
Some believe that one day the virus could mutate and begin to spread easily between humans, with potentially serious consequences.
Symptoms in humans
So far, there is no indication that this will happen. There have been some rare human cases who contracted the virus after contact with sick animals. In humans, the virus can cause symptoms ranging from mild illness, such as upper respiratory and eye infections, to serious illness, such as pneumonia, which can be fatal, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Moderna began early trials of its mRNA bird flu vaccine in 2023 in healthy adult volunteers. Results are expected later this year and will inform next steps, Moderna says.
Source: BBC