The US will pay Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA pandemic flu vaccine

(AP) – The U.S. authorities will salary nan vaccine shaper Moderna $176 cardinal to accelerate improvement of a pandemic influenza vaccine that could beryllium utilized to dainty vertebrate flu successful people, arsenic interest grows astir cases successful dairy cows crossed nan country, national officials announced Tuesday.

Moderna already has a vertebrate flu vaccine successful very early-stage testing that uses nan aforesaid mRNA exertion that allowed accelerated improvement and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19. The caller costs from nan U.S. Department of Health and Human Services see continued improvement of nan vaccine, including a late-stage proceedings adjacent twelvemonth if those early study results are positive.

But nan task tin beryllium quicky redirected to target different shape of influenza if a different threat than nan H5N1 shape of vertebrate flu emerges, HHS officials stressed.

The grant was made done nan Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, aliases BARDA, a programme that focuses connected aesculapian treatments for imaginable pandemics.

The H5N1 microorganism was detected earlier this twelvemonth successful dairy cows and has dispersed to much than 135 herds successful 12 states and infected 3 group to date, each pinch mild cases. Federal wellness officials accent that nan consequence to nan wider organization remains low.