US spends $176 million to develop H5N1 vaccine

Information posted on AP July 2. The amount of money, equivalent to more than 4,400 billion VND, was invested by the US Department of Health and Human Services. On July 2, a representative of this agency said that this amount of money could be redirected if a disease other than H5N1 avian influenza broke out.

The move is aimed at preparing vaccines in case of a pandemic, according to a representative of the US Department of Health and Human Services. In May, the agency also discussed with manufacturing units to reserve millions of doses of bird flu, the criteria is that the more companies meet the vaccination demand, the better.

Moderna is testing a bird flu vaccine using the same technology as its Covid-19 vaccine, and mRNA technology allows the shot to be developed more quickly.

With the new investment, the company will continue research, aiming for late-stage clinical trials in 2025 if initial results are positive.

In the US, the H5N1 virus has spread to more than 135 dairy herds in 12 states, causing three human cases. US health officials believe the risk to the population is low, but are still urgently preparing plans to prevent an outbreak.

Worldwide, avian influenza has been spreading on many farms since 2020. Many countries such as Cambodia, Chile, China, Australia, the US and the UK have recorded isolated cases of avian influenza.

In addition to Moderna, Pfizer is also working on an mRNA vaccine against bird flu. The strain Pfizer is targeting is similar but not identical to the bovine strain. The vaccine is currently in the laboratory, initially helping to boost antibody responses.

CSL Seqirus has an avian influenza vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The U.S. government has ordered about 10 million doses. As of the end of May, about 4.8 million doses had been packaged and completed.

In parallel with the human vaccine, American experts are urgently testing the injection for cows. In theory, if the amount of virus in cows is reduced, the possibility of the pathogen mutating and spreading to humans will also be greatly reduced, avoiding the risk of disease outbreaks in humans.