TUESDAY, Jan. 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding the pharmaceutical company Moderna $590 million to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu.

The latest funding is a sign of how seriously the Biden administration appears to be taking the pandemic threat.

No person-to-person spread has been detected, but that doesn’t mean an H5N1 avian influenza pandemic isn’t possible or even probable.

Moderna has been testing an mRNA candidate for influenza viruses like the H5 and H7 strains that are seen as pandemic threats. Others, including GSK and Pfizer, are also at work on similar shots.

The government is working to head off human bird flu infections. The U.S. government has awarded Moderna $590 million to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine, as the country doubles down on efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans.

The US Department of Health and Human Services will award $590 million to Moderna to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu, the pharmaceutical company announced Friday.

Moderna has been awarded approximately $590 million from the federal government to help speed up the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine, health officials said.

The government wants Moderna to push forward with various bird flu vaccines as well as mRNA shots for other influenza strains with pandemic potential.

Cases of norovirus infections are surging, but coming up with a way to prevent them has proven to be a challenge.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award roughly $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines, including vaccines for avian flu strains, to ensure the United States is better prepared for future potential pandemics, according to a recent HHS news release.