The United States Secretary of Health announced Friday that he will provide approximately US$590 million in funding to the Moderna laboratory to develop messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against influenza pandemics, at a time when fears surrounding of avian flu are increasing.
This funding aims toimprove the capabilities of mRNA technology so that the United States is better prepared to respond to other emerging infectious diseases
said the Ministry of Health in a press release.
This funding allows Moderna to accelerate the development of an anti-flu vaccine [contre le virus] H5N1 mRNA that matches well with strains currently circulating in cows and birds
added the Secretary of Health, Xavier Becerra.
Accelerating the development of new vaccines will help us stay ahead of the curve and ensure Americans have the tools they need to stay safe.
Bird flu variants have proven particularly unpredictable and dangerous to humans in the past
he also underlined.
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Moderna is particularly known for its COVID-19 vaccines. (Archive photo)
Photo: - / Mario De Ciccio
-Moderna, particularly known for its vaccines against COVID-19, specified in another press release that this agreement will allow to extend clinical studies [du laboratoire] to five subtypes of pandemic influenza
.
The US government had already announced on Thursday new funding of US$211 million to a consortium comprising private and public laboratories to develop messenger RNA vaccines against emerging diseases, with the aim of accelerating testing on avian flu.
67 bird flu infections
In the United States, 67 people have been infected with bird flu since the start of last year, and fears of a pandemic are growing.
In early January, for the first time, an elderly man died in Louisiana after contracting the H5N1 virus.
The United States had already announced at the beginning of January to allocate 306 million US dollars in funding to public entities to support preparedness and surveillance programs as well as medical research against avian flu.
This new funding comes as Donald Trump will take over from Joe Biden on Monday at the White House and there is concern about the way he will manage the threat.
Mr. Trump chose as Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious vaccine skeptic who has promised to reform health agencies.
