by Julie Steenhuysen

London: The US government has decided to give a sum of $176 million to an American citizen. Modern to advance Development like him bird flu vaccineThe company said on Tuesday that concerns are growing about the multi-state market. the outbreak Of H5N1 Cases of the virus have been reported in dairy cows since March, and three dairy workers have also been infected.

The funding received from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will be used to complete late-stage development and testing of a pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza, the company said in a statement.

The company said the agreement also includes additional options to prepare for and respond rapidly to future public health threats.

In March, U.S. officials reported the first outbreak of the H5N1 virus in dairy cattle, which has since infected more than 130 cattle in 12 states.

Scientists worry that exposure to the virus in poultry and dairy businesses could increase the risk that the virus will mutate and gain the ability to spread easily between people, potentially leading to increased mortality. pandemic,

Last year, Moderna began studying the safety and immunogenicity of its bird flu vaccine, called mRNA-1018, in healthy adults aged 18 and older. That study included the H5 subtype of bird flu that is currently circulating in dairy cattle, as well as the H7 bird flu subtype.

The company said results of the study are expected this year and will be used to formulate final stage development plans.

Use of Moderna vaccine mRNAOr messenger RNA, which is the technology in its COVID-19 shot.

“mRNA vaccine technology offers advantages in terms of efficacy, speed of development and production, scalability, and reliability in combating infectious disease outbreaks, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement.

Traditional flu vaccines, using cell- or egg-based technology, can take four to six months to manufacture.

U.S. officials have said they are moving a bulk of the vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus, allowing up to 4.8 million doses to be available if needed.

Those doses will likely be used to vaccinate farm workers and others at risk of exposure to the virus. For the general public, U.S. and global health officials say the risk of bird flu is low.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuisen in Chicago, Bhanavi Satija and Christy Santosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot)