Prevention Milestone: 5 Million Doses of Bird Flu Vaccine Almost Ready!

As part of pandemic preparedness, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is looking to execute its plan to produce almost 5 million doses of the H5N1 avian flu vaccine.

In a couple of months, all 4.8 million doses could be ready – discussions are underway with mRNA vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna – thus saving time should a vaccine be needed.

A manufacturing partner can complete the H5N1 fill-and-finish steps without disrupting the production of the seasonal flu vaccine. One of two H5N1 candidate vaccine viruses well matches the circulating strain. Potential trigger factors are constantly studied, including a change in transmission propensity like human-to-human and animal-to-human spread. “We’re always looking for mutations,” says Nirav Shah, MD, JD, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We’re in rich discussions across federal agencies.”