New bird flu vaccine development gathers pace amid fears of pandemic

Amid fears of a bird flu pandemic in humans owing to the unprecedented rise in bird flu cases this year, the federal government has intensified its efforts in the development of new vaccines, including an mRNA shot. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has committed $590 million to Moderna for fast-tracking the ongoing development of a

bird flu vaccine

, the pharmaceutical company announced on Friday.
The vaccine will target the current strains of bird flu circulating in wild birds, poultry and dairy cows. Previously in July, $176 million was awarded to the drugmaker to develop a bird flu vaccine. The current investment is in addition to the earlier amount.
Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, feels an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine is crucial as the technology is faster to develop and easier to update than more traditional vaccines.

“When I think about the advantages of this technology, I think about the vulnerability that the country has in the early stages of any emerging threat,” an NBC News report quoted O’Connell as saying. “Because it can be manufactured quickly, if we began to see something sweep across the country quickly, it would allow us to move fast, to give the first line of protection to the American people.”

Current vaccines for bird flu

Seasonal flu vaccines don’t protect against avian influenza A viruses. The CDC has developed H5 candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) that closely match the hemagglutinin (HA) protein of the H5N1 avian flu strains found in humans, birds, and other animals. These CVVs could be used to create a vaccine for people if necessary, and early tests suggest they would provide good protection against the current H5N1 strains. Two bird flu vaccine candidates have been earlier approved but are in limited quantities in the nation’s stockpile. Those shots use traditional vaccine technology, but may not be enough for an emergency like a fast-moving pandemic.
“Avian flu variants have proven to be particularly unpredictable and dangerous to humans in the past. That is why this response has been a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and HHS,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday. “Accelerating the development of new vaccines will allow us to stay ahead and ensure that Americans have the tools they need to stay safe.”

Rise in human bird flu cases

Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is a viral infection that spreads in birds, cows and other animals. It can sometimes spread to people. It can cause mild to severe respiratory symptoms and pink eye. People who work with poultry, waterfowl and dairy cows are most at risk.
So far, there have been 67 confirmed cases in humans in the US, according to the CDC. One patient, an older person in Louisiana, has died. Most of the people had contact with either dairy cows or poultry.
Symptoms of the bird flu include Pink eye (conjunctivitis), fever, fatigue, cough, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stuffy or runny nose, and shortness of breath (dyspnea). In severe cases, bird flu may cause pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, bacterial infections, sepsis, brain swelling, like meningoencephalitis, and respiratory failure.
Humans are at risk of getting bird flu if they come in contact with an infected animal’s body fluid, like spit (saliva), milk, respiratory droplets or poop (feces).

More steps being taken to counter growing bird flu threat

The National Institutes of Health earlier said this month that it’s providing $11 million in funding for additional research into countermeasures. The funding will also be used to help develop new medications, such as antivirals and monoclonal antibodies according to NBC. However, most of it will go into developing new vaccines.