EU to secure 40 million avian flu vaccines for 15 countries – officials
Vials and syringes are seen in front of displayed EU flag in this illustration photo taken March 16, 2021.
Picture taken March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Purchase Licensing Rights
The EU will sign a contract on Tuesday to secure over 40 million doses of a preventative avian flu vaccine
for 15 countries with the first shipments heading to Finland, EU officials said on Monday.
The deal secures up to 665,000 doses from vaccine manufacturer CSL Seqirus and includes
an option for a further 40 million vaccines for a maximum of four years.
The vaccines will be jointly procured by the Commission’s emergency health arm HERA
and 15 countries in the EU and the European Economic Area.
The doses are intended for those most exposed to the virus, such as poultry farm workers and veterinarians.
The United States, Canada and Britain are also in the process of securing preventative vaccine doses.
“When it comes to avian influenza we are continuously and actively monitoring the situation…and tomorrow, with our Member States,
we are ensuring access to over 40 million doses of avian influenza vaccine to protect those most exposed.
Deliveries to countries that have immediate needs are already on their way,” EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides told Reuters.
The H5N1 virus has spread across most of the U.S. states affecting primarily poultry and in recent months over 80 dairy farms.
So far, there have been no confirmed human-to-human transfers though three people in the U.S.
were infected after exposure to infected cattle since April 1.
There are no active cases in humans or in cattle in the EU,
as of early June according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
“Transmission to humans remains a rare event and no sustained transmission between humans has been observed so far,
” the ECDC said in a weekly report for June 1-7.
“The risk of zoonotic influenza transmission to the general public in EU/EEA countries is considered to be low.”
The Commission, through HERA, has already secured 111 million doses from GSK and Seqirus of pandemic influenza vaccines,
which can be adapted to any prevailing flu strain.
Europe taps CSL Seqirus to produce bird flu vaccines
Right after signing on to help with bird flu pandemic preparedness efforts in the U.S., CSL Seqirus has agreed to do the same in Europe through a vaccine supply pact.
The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) tapped CSL Seqirus to deliver 665,000 doses of its pre-pandemic bird flu vaccine for 15 European countries. Under a four-year contract, authorities can purchase up to 40 million more doses.
The vaccine is “well-matched” to the currently circulating avian influenza strain, CSL Seqirus said in a release
Commission secures 40 million vaccines against avian flu pandemic
https://www.euronews.com
Jun 11, 2024
While several outbreaks of avian influenza have been detected in farms across the globe,
transmission to humans is still rare and limited to those in close contact with infected animals and contaminated spaces.
One of the latest reports comes from Mexico, where a 59-year-old man died on 24 April after being infected with avian influenza H5N2,
confirming the first human infection with this strain of the virus.
Four other cases of human infections have been reported in the United States since 2022,
three of them since the beginning of this year, all among dairy farm workers.
The US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control assesses the current public health risk as low
and is currently monitoring outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows.
US nears deal to fund Moderna’s bird flu vaccine trial, FT reports
https://www.reuters.com
May 30, 2024
Test tubes are seen in front of a displayed Moderna logo in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
The U.S. government is nearing an agreement to fund a late-stage trial of Moderna’s mRNA bird flu vaccine,
the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as the outbreak spreads in dairy cows.
Moderna told Reuters it was in discussions with the government on advancing its vaccine candidate,
but did not confirm the funding, saying it has nothing further to add.
Federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) could come as soon as next month
and would include a promise to procure doses if late-stage trials are successful, the FT report said, citing people close to the discussions.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
Moderna is testing the experimental shot, mRNA-1018, against several strains of the virus – including the currently circulating H5N1 variant.
It said dosing in an early-to-mid stage study of the vaccine was completed, and it expects data soon.
Shares of the company have risen about 40% since April 1, when the second known human case of bird flu in the United States was reported.
The stock was up about 3% at $151.25 in premarket trading on Thursday.
The United States has a stockpile of bird flu vaccines matched with the strain currently circulating,
as well as antivirals that could be used to treat human infections.
For a major epidemic or a pandemic, however, the country would have to considerably scale up stock.
The U.S. government is manufacturing about 4.8 million doses of CSL Seqirus’ bird flu vaccine.
It is also in “active conversations” with Pfizer and Moderna on a potential mRNA vaccine.
Last week, U.S. officials confirmed another human infection in the country since the virus was first detected in dairy cattle in late March.
For a major epidemic or a pandemic, however, the country would have to considerably scale up stock.
Avian flu_ New human infections reported as epizootic rapidly spreads in the US
https://www.lemonde.fr
11th June 2014
A dairy farm in Rockford (Illinois), US, April 9, 2024. On this farm, several cows have been placed in isolation as a precaution against the avian flu epidemic.
The H5N1 virus continues to spread in American dairy farms. Moderately concerned, scientists criticize the lack of transparency necessary for better managing the risk that this virus originating in animals might mutate and become transmissible between humans.
A third man infected with the H5N1 virus in the United States, the first human case in Australia and the first person infected with H5N2 in Mexico: In the space of a week, different sublineages of avian flu have caused concern by jumping from animal species to humans.
Although these are not the same viruses nor do they involve the same public health issues, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers that in all cases “the current risk to the general population posed by this virus [is] low.”
Nonetheless, warning signs are mounting and scientists are intensifying their calls to implement measures to prevent a catastrophic scenario. “I think the current circumstances justify sounding the alarm and mobilizing for vaccine production,” Gregory Poland, director of the vaccine research group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told Le Monde.
On Friday, June 7, a two-and-a-half-year-old Australian girl became the country’s first official case of H5N1. She is believed to have been infected during a trip to India and developed symptoms when returning home. After more than two weeks in intensive care, she has now recovered.
In Mexico, few details have yet emerged from the investigation into the first known human case linked to the H5N2 virus, announced on Wednesday by the WHO. The patient, a 59-year-old man, died a week after the onset of acute symptoms
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