Bird flu isn’t part of the “quad-demic” of viruses circulating through the country this winter—COVID, seasonal flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus—and its risk to public health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

The latest funding is a sign of how seriously the Biden administration appears to be taking the pandemic threat.

The US Department of HHS is awarding the pharmaceutical company Moderna $590 million to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu.

The government wants Moderna to push forward with various bird flu vaccines as well as mRNA shots for other influenza strains with pandemic potential.

Moderna has been testing an mRNA candidate for influenza viruses like the H5 and H7 strains that are seen as pandemic threats. Others, including GSK and Pfizer, are also at work on similar shots.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award roughly $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines, including vaccines for avian flu strains, to ensure the United States is better prepared for future potential pandemics, according to a recent HHS news release.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control, the current bird flu outbreak has caused 67 human cases of bird flu in the U.S. and one death associated with the virus.

Newsweek has contacted Moderna and the HHS via email outside of regular office hours. Avian influenza A (H5N1) has caused at least 67 human illnesses, and was associated with one death ...

Moderna has been awarded approximately $590 million from the federal government to help speed up the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine, health officials said.

such as avian influenza A(H5N1). The company plans to design up to four new pandemic influenza vaccines and test them in Phase I trials. In November 2024, Moderna gained approval from Health Canada for its mRNA vaccine, mRESVIA, aimed at preventing lower ...

The funding, which follows the $176 million the government awarded Moderna in June 2024, aims to get mRNA vaccines ready before bird flu strains currently circulating in the wild and on farms can potentially cause human outbreaks.

Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock is trading higher with a session volume of 8.0 million as per data from Benzinga Pro. On Friday, Moderna announced ongoing support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.