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The US government has given Moderna $176m (\u00a3139m) to develop a messenger-ribonucleic-acid-based (mRNA) pandemic influenza vaccine that would work against bird flu. <\/p>\n
It says it wants to be “better prepared” for public-health crises, having learned lessons from Covid. <\/p>\n
Bird flu is not a big threat to people, despite outbreaks in poultry and cattle. <\/p>\n
But experts want a working vaccine that could be quickly rolled out, in case the virus mutates and becomes a problem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Vaccines using mRNA technology – which the Moderna’s Covid jab is also based on – can be produced more quickly.<\/p>\n
And the US government says adding this technology to its pandemic-flu toolkit enhances its ability to be “nimble and quick” against bird flu.<\/p>\n
The $176m, from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, will be used to complete late-stage development and testing of Moderna’s vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This strain has been around for years in birds – but some other animals, including cattle, have become infected in recent outbreaks.<\/p>\n
Some believe the virus might one day change and start spreading easily among humans, with potentially serious consequences. <\/p>\n
So far, there is no sign of this. <\/p>\n
There have been some rare cases of people catching it after coming into contact with sick animals<\/a>. <\/p>\n In people, the virus can cause symptoms ranging from mild illness, such as upper-respiratory and eye infections, to potentially fatal disease such as pneumonia, according to the US Centers for Disease Control.<\/p>\n Moderna began early tests of its mRNA bird-flu vaccine in 2023, with healthy adult volunteers. <\/p>\n The results, expected later this year, will inform the next steps, it says. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n