Pharma Developing Bird Flu Vaccine for Humans As Animals Get Sick

Pharmaceutical companies GSK (formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline), Moderna and CSL Seqirus announced that they are developing and ready to test human vaccines against avian influenza H5N1 (also known as bird flu) as a precautionary measure to prepare for what they believe may be a future pandemic.¹ Now that certain strains of H5N1 have infected not only birds but also animals, vaccine manufacturers have said they could develop hundreds of millions of doses of bird flu vaccine for humans within months if a new strain of avian influenza were to begin infecting human beings.²

Moderna had been working on an experimental mRNA pandemic influenza vaccine prior to 2020 that was modified to create the COVID vaccine, and Moderna officials report the company plans a small human trial of an mRNA pandemic flu vaccine in 2023 that will contain the new H5N1 subtype. Sanofi Pasteur already has a vaccine targeting the H5N1 virus in stock that company officials say could serve as a basis for producing vaccines containing current strains of the virus.³

A GSK spokesperson said the company was awarded contracts with the United States, Canada, the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to supply a vaccine in the event of a potential bird flu pandemic. The spokesperson stated:

This will ensure the ready production and supply of this vaccine, and together could provide at least 200 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine to governments around the world.⁴

Risk of Human Transmission Remains Low

The current avian flu outbreak has infected and killed more than 200 million birds in the U.S. and worldwide, including chickens and turkeys, and is believed to have started infecting mammals, including minks in Spain, seals in the United States, sea lions in South America, and dolphins in the United Kingdom. Experts are concerned about the virus’s ability to mutate rapidly and transfer from birds to mammals.⁵

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC), although avian influenza A viruses usually do not infect people, there have been some rare cases of human infection with these viruses. The illness in humans from avian flu virus infections ranges in severity from no symptoms or mild illness to severe disease.⁶

A small number of humans have contracted H5N1 strain of avian flu in the past, but there are no known cases of human-to-human spread. The CDC has said that bird flu is still a low risk to people in the U.S.⁷

U.S. Government Concerned That Shortage of Eggs Will Affect the Vaccine Industry

Given the current outbreak of avian flu in poultry, U.S. federal officials are concerned that the shortage of eggs will have an effect on the vaccine industry since eggs are used in the development of influenza vaccines. Egg-based influenza vaccines have been used since the 1940s, although several genetically engineered influenza vaccines available today are produced using cells from insects and dogs, and most new influenza vaccines being developed do not use eggs.⁸ The U.S. has increased its stockpile of chickens since this outbreak. Thousands of eggs are transferred in locked and guarded facilities every day. However, their locations are not known due to national security purposes.⁹

According to a 2017 report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) spent $42 million on a three-year contract with one company to ensure a year-round supply of high quality eggs. If the poultry supply chain is compromised, public health officials say it could result in a shortage of influenza vaccines.¹⁰

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