As the H5N1 avian flu continues to spread among dairy cows in the United States, nearly 5 million doses of flu vaccine are now being prepared for possible use in humans.
Since the outbreak in livestock began this spring, bird flu has been confirmed in three humans who worked on dairy farms in Texas and Michigan, and health experts are concerned the virus could mutate to the point where it could spread easily among humans.
In response, vaccine maker CSL Seqirus announced last week that it has been tasked with making the additional doses of flu vaccine at its North Carolina plant.
"It utilizes a highly scalable method of production and is currently positioned to deliver up to 150 million influenza vaccine doses to support an influenza pandemic response within six months of a pandemic declaration," the company noted in a news release.
“The CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] maintains the risk to public health as low. We are closely monitoring the situation because we are acutely aware of the threat that influenza virus strains like H5N1 can pose and take seriously our role in preparedness efforts alongside our government and public health partners,” Marc Lacey, global executive director for pandemic at CSL Seqirus, said in the news release. “This agreement... will help support the U.S. government’s ability to respond swiftly in the event that the current avian flu situation changes.”
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Since the outbreak in livestock began this spring, bird flu has been confirmed in three humans who worked on dairy farms in Texas and Michigan, and health experts are concerned the virus could mutate to the point where it could spread easily among humans.
In response, vaccine maker CSL Seqirus announced last week that it has been tasked with making the additional doses of flu vaccine at its North Carolina plant.
"It utilizes a highly scalable method of production and is currently positioned to deliver up to 150 million influenza vaccine doses to support an influenza pandemic response within six months of a pandemic declaration," the company noted in a news release.
“The CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] maintains the risk to public health as low. We are closely monitoring the situation because we are acutely aware of the threat that influenza virus strains like H5N1 can pose and take seriously our role in preparedness efforts alongside our government and public health partners,” Marc Lacey, global executive director for pandemic at CSL Seqirus, said in the news release. “This agreement... will help support the U.S. government’s ability to respond swiftly in the event that the current avian flu situation changes.”
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