In America, the Trump government canceled funding for the bird flu vaccine, read why this decision was taken

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Trump administration has canceled the contract given to Moderna for the development of the final phase of the bird flu vaccine. Along with this, the right to buy the shots has also been canceled.

In January, Moderna was awarded $590 million from the Biden administration to advance development of its bird flu vaccine and for pandemic influenza, including to support the expansion of five additional studies.

Funds were given last year as well

Earlier last year, an additional $176 million was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to complete final-stage development and testing of an mRNA-based vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza.

What did the company say?

Moderna said it plans to explore options for late-stage development and manufacturing of the vaccine.

The company also announced that it received positive interim data from tests to test the safety of its bird flu vaccine targeting the H5 avian influenza virus variant.

When did the first case come?

The first outbreak of H5N1 bird flu was reported in the US in April 2024, in which more than 70 people have been infected so far. Most of them are laborers. So far there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus and hence the risk to the general public is low. But people who come in contact with birds, chickens or cattle are at a higher risk of infection.

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