HHS pulls funding for bird flu vaccine

Moderna on Wednesday announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, pulled its full award for approximately $590 million for the development of its mRNA-based H5 avian influenza vaccine. This news came alongside the announcement of positive interim data in a clinical study on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.

What did the agreement originally involve? The award was granted by the Biden administration in January to accelerate the development of pre-pandemic influenza vaccines and included rights for the U.S. to purchase the vaccines to prepare for a potential pandemic. The HHS under the Biden administration sought this deal because of what the administration classified as the unpredictable and dangerous nature of avian flu variants. At the time, the HHS said it hoped that the development of an mRNA-based vaccine would build up the knowledge base around bird flu vaccines in case strains of the virus emerged later with pandemic potential.

Is the bird flu currently a threat to humans? Despite the ongoing outbreak of the bird flu among animals including dairy cows and poultry since spring 2024, human infection remains relatively uncommon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, has reported 70 human cases of the bird flu nationwide and one death. The CDC currently recognizes the virus as low-risk to humans, and human-to-human transmission has not been found in the U.S.

What happens now? Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said that the company is pleased by the interim results of the vaccine study and will look into strategies independent of government funding to continue vaccine development and production for pandemic preparedness.