Mary Wilson
Well-known member
2 days ago
By Michelle Roberts, Digital health editor, BBC News
The US government has given Moderna $176m (£139m) to develop a messenger-ribonucleic-acid-based (mRNA) pandemic influenza vaccine that would work against bird flu.
It says it wants to be "better prepared" for public-health crises, having learned lessons from Covid.
Bird flu is not a big threat to people, despite outbreaks in poultry and cattle.
But experts want a working vaccine that could be quickly rolled out, in case the virus mutates and becomes a problem.
Vaccines using mRNA technology - which the Moderna's Covid jab is also based on - can be produced more quickly.
And the US government says adding this technology to its pandemic-flu toolkit enhances its ability to be "nimble and quick" against bird flu.
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. ...
The results, expected later this year, will inform the next steps, it says. ...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51ywpxp43lo
By Michelle Roberts, Digital health editor, BBC News
The US government has given Moderna $176m (£139m) to develop a messenger-ribonucleic-acid-based (mRNA) pandemic influenza vaccine that would work against bird flu.
It says it wants to be "better prepared" for public-health crises, having learned lessons from Covid.
Bird flu is not a big threat to people, despite outbreaks in poultry and cattle.
But experts want a working vaccine that could be quickly rolled out, in case the virus mutates and becomes a problem.
Vaccines using mRNA technology - which the Moderna's Covid jab is also based on - can be produced more quickly.
And the US government says adding this technology to its pandemic-flu toolkit enhances its ability to be "nimble and quick" against bird flu.
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. ...
The results, expected later this year, will inform the next steps, it says. ...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51ywpxp43lo