U.S. awards Moderna $590 million to speed development of bird flu vaccine: NPR

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it would grant $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of flu vaccines., particularly to protect against avian flu.

“Accelerating the development of new vaccines will allow us to stay ahead of the curve and ensure Americans have the tools they need to stay safe,” outgoing HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday. .

The money will go to Moderna, the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company that previously developed a COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2023, Moderna has been working to create a “pandemic flu vaccine” that would help protect against certain viruses, including H5N1 avian flu.

The new funds build on the $176 million HHS paid to Moderna last July. On Friday, Moderna said the additional funding would help fund advanced development, vaccine licensure and expansion of clinical studies of other pandemic influenza subtypes to prevent other potential public health emergencies.

In recent months, bird flu has spread rapidly in the United States.

It has primarily infected livestock and other mammals, but there have been at least 67 confirmed human cases so far, including one death in Louisiana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California currently accounts for more than half of human infections.

The public health risk remains low, but HHS Secretary Becerra said avian flu variants have proven unpredictable, which is why the virus is a top priority for the federal government.

On Thursday, the CDC issued an alert urging hospitals to accelerate efforts to test people suspected of being infected.