US government inks a deal with Moderna to make pandemic flu vaccine

30 YEARS AGO, A BOSTON COMPANY WILL GET $170 MILLION TO DEVELOP TO DEVELOP A BIRD FLU VACCINE. MODERNA SAYS IT WILL USE THE SAME MRNA TECHNOLOGY USED TO PRODUCE SHOTS FOR COVID 19. HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS, DOCTOR SHIRA DORON, THE CHIEF INFECTION CONTROL OFFICER FOR TUFTS MEDICINE HEALTH SYSTEM, WHICH IS WHY YOU’RE THE PERSON TO ASK THIS OF HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO CONTAIN THIS OUTBREAK. DOCTOR, A BIRD FLU THAT’S ALREADY INFECTED AT LEAST 130 HERDS OF DAIRY COWS IN 12 STATES. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE NUMBER OF HUMAN CASES YOU KNOW, WE THINK THAT DAIRY COW INFECTIONS MAY HAVE BEEN GOING ON LONGER THAN WE REALIZED AS FAR BACK AS DECEMBER OR JANUARY, AND YET, THANKFULLY, THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY THREE REPORTED HUMAN INFECTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE VIRUS. ALL THREE HAD MILD INFECTION. ALL OF THEM HAD CLOSE CONTACT WITH COWS, AND NONE TRANSMITTED IT TO OTHER HUMANS, INCLUDING THE PEOPLE IN THEIR HOUSEHOLD. NOW WE’RE PROBABLY MISSING SOME OTHER MILD HUMAN CASES, BUT STILL, THOSE STATISTICS ARE PRETTY REASSURING. THEY ARE SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THE INFECTION RISK AMONG PEOPLE IS LOW. WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT SPENDING MILLIONS NOW TO DEVELOP THIS VACCINE? YOU KNOW, COVID TAUGHT THE WORLD THAT VIRUSES, GENETIC CODE MUTATES AND FLU IS A NOTORIOUS MUTATOR. THE RISK TO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT WORK WITH CATTLE AND POULTRY IS LOW TODAY, BUT MUTATIONS IN THE VIRUS’S GENETIC CODE COULD MAKE IT BETTER SUITED TO INFECT PEOPLE TO SPREAD BETWEEN PEOPLE, OR COULD EVEN MAKE IT MORE LETHAL TO PEOPLE. AND THOSE CHANGES WOULD GIVE IT PANDEMIC POTENTIAL THAT IT DOES NOT HAVE TODAY. AND FOR ALL THOSE REASONS, WE NEED TO BE PREPARED WITH VACCINES AND TREATMENTS. SO ARE YOU TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF IT? YEAH. SO WHILE THIS OUTBREAK CONTINUES, SHOULD PEOPLE AVOID CONTACT WITH FARMS AND BIRD FEEDERS JUST TO BE SAFE? WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE? THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC AROUND THIS IS ONE STAY AWAY FROM RAW, UNPASTEURIZED MILK. PASTEURIZATION DOES MAKE THE MILK FROM INFECTED COWS SAFE. AVOID HANDLING SICK OR DEAD ANIMALS IN THE WILD. IF YOU HAVE TO WEAR GLOVES, WASH YOUR HANDS VERY WELL. AFTERWARD. PEOPLE WITH BACKYARD BIRD FEEDERS OR CHICKENS SHOULD PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO HANDWASHING AS WELL. FARM WORKERS SHOULD USE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT WHEN THEY’RE HANDLING OR DEALING WITH ANY ANIMALS KNOWN TO BE PART OF THIS OUTBREAK, LIKE COWS, CHICKENS AND ALPACA. GREAT ADVICE, DOCTOR DORON, AL

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday a contract with Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine that targets pandemic flu, in case the shot becomes necessary with the latest outbreak of bird flu.“This is an important step in our nation’s pandemic influenza preparedness and response capability as we look to add this additional platform to our existing portfolio of approved pandemic influenza vaccines,” Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response with HHS, said at a news conference.The government has 4.8 million doses of an H5 vaccine with a traditional platform under production, O’Connell said. The vaccine is tailored to the currently circulating strains of the H5N1 bird flu virus and should come off the finishing line starting in the middle of this month — ahead of schedule, she said.The new $176 million contract with Moderna will help the government stay “nimble” in case it needs to act quickly against any kind of circulating strains of a pandemic flu virus, officials said.The mRNA vaccines wouldn’t be available any time soon, O’Connell said. Moderna has a vaccine candidate in early stage testing, and results should be available in the coming weeks, but late-stage testing of its vaccine wouldn’t start until 2025.If something changes with the current H5N1 bird flu outbreak — for instance, if there is human-to-human transmission or if the severity of cases gets worse — there are options to “accelerate the timeline,” O’Connell said.Video below: Wildlife veterinarian discusses impacts of bird fluHowever, such a vaccine may not be necessary.“The risk to the general population right now remains low and CDC’s assessment of that has not changed,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.H5N1 bird flu has been identified in dairy cows in 12 states, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Three farm workers in the U.S. who worked with infected cattle have tested positive for bird flu.Daskalakis said that even if a vaccine were available, the CDC isn’t entirely sure that vaccination is the best approach to protect farm workers right now, given that uptake might be limited, the virus hasn’t spread widely and illnesses haven’t been severe.Biosecurity safety measures that many farms already have in place have been essential to keep the virus from spreading, said Eric Deeble, acting senior adviser for H5N1 response at the US Department of Agriculture, but the country needs to be prepared for anything.“We do know that the vast majority of farms practice biosecurity and that includes dairy farms,” Deeble said at Tuesday’s news conference. “But this is a new and emerging disease that calls for a different set of biosecurity practices or enhancements of specific ones.”More than 780 people have been monitored as a result of their exposure to infected cows, and at least 53 have been tested, the CDC said.

“This is an important step in our nation’s pandemic influenza preparedness and response capability as we look to add this additional platform to our existing portfolio of approved pandemic influenza vaccines,” Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response with HHS, said at a news conference.

The government has 4.8 million doses of an H5 vaccine with a traditional platform under production, O’Connell said. The vaccine is tailored to the currently circulating strains of the H5N1 bird flu virus and should come off the finishing line starting in the middle of this month — ahead of schedule, she said.

The new $176 million contract with Moderna will help the government stay “nimble” in case it needs to act quickly against any kind of circulating strains of a pandemic flu virus, officials said.

The mRNA vaccines wouldn’t be available any time soon, O’Connell said. Moderna has a vaccine candidate in early stage testing, and results should be available in the coming weeks, but late-stage testing of its vaccine wouldn’t start until 2025.

If something changes with the current H5N1 bird flu outbreak — for instance, if there is human-to-human transmission or if the severity of cases gets worse — there are options to “accelerate the timeline,” O’Connell said.

Video below: Wildlife veterinarian discusses impacts of bird flu

However, such a vaccine may not be necessary.

“The risk to the general population right now remains low and CDC’s assessment of that has not changed,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

H5N1 bird flu has been identified in dairy cows in 12 states, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Three farm workers in the U.S. who worked with infected cattle have tested positive for bird flu.

Daskalakis said that even if a vaccine were available, the CDC isn’t entirely sure that vaccination is the best approach to protect farm workers right now, given that uptake might be limited, the virus hasn’t spread widely and illnesses haven’t been severe.

Biosecurity safety measures that many farms already have in place have been essential to keep the virus from spreading, said Eric Deeble, acting senior adviser for H5N1 response at the US Department of Agriculture, but the country needs to be prepared for anything.

“We do know that the vast majority of farms practice biosecurity and that includes dairy farms,” Deeble said at Tuesday’s news conference. “But this is a new and emerging disease that calls for a different set of biosecurity practices or enhancements of specific ones.”

More than 780 people have been monitored as a result of their exposure to infected cows, and at least 53 have been tested, the CDC said.

US government inks a deal with Moderna to make pandemic flu vaccine

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