NY.- The U.S. government will pay vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to speed development of a pandemic flu vaccine that could be used to treat bird flu in people as concern mounts over cases in dairy cows across the country, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Moderna already has an avian flu vaccine in very early stages of trials that uses the same messenger RNA technology that enabled the rapid development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. The new funding from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) includes continued development of the vaccine, which includes a late-stage trial next year if the results of the early studies are positive.
But the project can be quickly refocused to target another form of flu if a threat other than the H5N1 form of bird flu emerges, HHS officials stressed.
The contract was awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a program focused on medical treatments for potential pandemics.
The H5N1 virus was detected in dairy cows this year and has spread to more than 135 herds in 12 states and infected three people so far, all with mild cases. Federal health officials stress that the risk to the general population remains low.
#pay #million #Moderna #bird #flu #vaccine
