Five notes:
- On Jan. 16, the agency said it intends to invest $211 million to support the development of an RNA-based vaccine technology platform and long-term manufacturing capabilities. The funds will be allocated through the agency’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
- “The funding will allow us to bring the benefits of mRNA vaccine technology to bear against a wider array of emerging threats,” Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, said in a Jan. 16 news release. “mRNA technology can be faster to develop and easier to update than other vaccines making it a helpful tool to have against viruses that move fast and mutate quickly.”
- HHS will also provide approximately $590 million to Moderna. The drugmaker will use the funds to accelerate development of pandemic influenza mRNA-based vaccines, according to a separate announcement Jan. 17.
- The U.S. has announced a series of new measures aimed at accelerating the nation’s response to bird flu in recent days. On Jan. 14, the Biden administration released a 300-page playbook meant for future administrations to “protect the nation and effectively respond to any future biological threat.” On Jan. 16, the CDC published a health alert recommending hospitals perform subtyping to test for bird flu in all hospitalized patients who test positive for influenza A.
- The CDC has confirmed 67 cases of bird flu among humans since the spring of 2024. There has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission, and federal health officials maintain that the risk the disease poses to public health remains low.
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