Vaccine Companies Say They ‘Stand Ready’ for Potential H5N1 Bird Flu Outbreak in Humans

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

Some of the largest vaccine companies in the developed world are reportedly preparing avian flu H5N1 shots for humans in case the virus were to mutate and become easily transmissible from person to person.

Vaccine makers GSK, Moderna, and CSL Seqirus told Reuters that they have begun developing or are about to test new human shots to target the currently circulating version of the virus. Others, such as Sanofi, said they have vaccines for the H5N1 virus in stock and “stand ready” to produce up-to-date shots based on existing ones.

Notably, Moderna said its H5N1 vaccines will be made using the same mRNA technology used in its COVID-19 vaccines. The Massachusetts-based company plans to start testing the bird flu shots on humans in the first half of 2023 and could “very quickly” in an outbreak scenario, reported Reuters, citing Raffael Nachbagauer, Moderna’s executive director of infectious diseases.

Virus Spread

Scientists have been closely watching as the virus jumped from Europe to North and South America, leaving behind a devastating trail of nearly 200 million dead birds and other animals since the initial October 2022 outbreak in a mink farm in northwestern Spain.

In the United States, more than 52 million birds in 46 states have either died from H5N1 infection or have been put down due to exposure to infected birds since February, marking the worst disaster ever hit the American poultry industry.

H5N1 infections in humans are extremely rare, as the World Health Organization reported (pdf) just four cases last year, including two in Spain, a fatal one in China, and one in the United States.

In February, health authorities of Cambodia confirmed that an 11-year-old girl contracted and died from the disease. But Cambodian officials said there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, further noting that the strain that caused the girl’s death isn’t the same one killing birds en masse in Europe and the Americas.

In the past 20 years, there have only been 868 people diagnosed with H5N1 infection, although 457 of them were killed by the virus, representing a 53 percent case fatality rate.

By Bill Pan

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Was Texas Storm Manmade?

Another “1-in-100 years” weather event in Kerr County happened next to a Texas designated “Weather Modification Map of Rain-Enhancement Projects in Texas”.

The America Party Will Harm Democrats The Most

Elon Musk formed the America Party after an X poll asking his followers if they wanted “independence from the two-party system!

Democrats Exhibit the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE)

“The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias where people with low ability at a task overestimate their competence, while those with high ability underestimate their competence.

250 Countdown

Those 56 intrepid men who signed put their very lives, honor and fortunes on the line. There was no auto-quill to accommodate their signatures. 

How the Senate Parliamentarian Changed the OBBB

An unelected bureaucrat does a important job in the U.S. Senate. Elizabeth MacDonough enforces senate rules on Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”.

Trial Begins Over Trump Admin’s Deportations of Pro-Palestinian Students

A trial over President Trump’s attempts to deport pro-Palestinian activists began on July 7 with attorneys debating free speech.

Man Killed After Opening Fire at Border Patrol Facility in Texas

27-year-old man armed with a rifle was killed after opening fire outside Border Patrol facility in McAllen, TX, prompting shootout with feds and local police.

California Rejects Federal Push to End Transgender Participation in School Sports

CA education officials are refusing to end policies allowing transgender students to participate in school sports consistent with their gender identities.

Amazon Prime Day Set to Lift US Online Sales by $23.8 Billion

Online spending in the United States is expected to surge by $23.8 billion during Amazon’s expanded Prime Day event from July 8 to July 11.

Trump to Extend Tariff Deadline to Aug. 1, Keep Rates at 10 Percent During Talks

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump will sign the order to move the deadline to Aug. 1 from its current date of July 9.

DOJ, FBI Find Epstein Committed Suicide, Had No ‘Client List’

Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and had no “client list,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI.

National Weather Service Fully Staffed During Deadly Texas Flooding: White House

White House press sec. Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the National Weather Service had a full staff on hand to handle the Central Texas flooding.

US Removes Terrorist Designation for Al Qaeda Affiliate in Syria

The State Department has removed from its list of foreign terrorist organizations Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra.
spot_img

Related Articles