Moderna gets funding for an HPAI vaccine in humans

The U.S. government will give pharmaceutical company Moderna $176 million for a High Path Avian Flu vaccine, according to Reuters.

It uses the same technology as the COVID-19 vaccine, and Moderna began development and testing it last year on adults.

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

So far, four agriculture workers have contracted the virus since 2022.

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