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 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.

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.

FRIDAY, Jan. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging health care workers to accelerate bird flu testing for patients hospitalized with flu symptoms, as the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak continues to grow in the United States and Canada.

The CDC announced on Thursday its recommendation to test hospitalized influenza A patients more quickly and thoroughly to distinguish between seasonal flu and bird flu.

Since the beginning of the outbreaks in poultry and cattle, almost 135 million birds and more than 900 cattle herds have been affected nationwide. A significant number of wild animals – such as raccoon, skunks, foxes and bobcats – as well as marine mammals and domestic cats have also died from the virus.

Birds within the protection zone should not be kept outdoors and there should be no movement of birds or eggs within or out of the zone except under licence, according to the coun

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed another human H5N1 avian flu case -- otherwise known as bird flu -- in California on Thursday, bringing the nationwide total of cases to 67.