The Trump administration has confirmed it is reevaluating the $590 million human avian flu vaccine contract awarded to Moderna on the waning day of the Biden administration.
“It is important for the U.S. sector and health and welfare welfare to help prepare for the pandemic, but for four years of Biden administration surveillance, a spokesperson for HHS said in an email.
Review, first It has been reported Bloomberg has caused egg prices to rise as the US is in the midst of a bird flu outbreak spread among herds of chicken and cattle. Human cases have been relatively rare, but the virus has caused deaths in the past. The current stock has killed one person in the US so far.
The funding review is part of a broader government push to investigate spending on messenger RNA-based vaccines, the technology Moderna and Pfizer used to develop the Covid-19 vaccine. This allows vaccines to be designed and manufactured faster than traditional approaches.
HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has openly criticised the Covid-19 shots, calling the vaccine “the deadliest vaccine ever made.” In 2021, Kennedy filed a petition requesting the Food and Drug Administration to pull shots from the market and refraining from approving other Covid vaccines in the future.
Moderna is looking for new revenue as it struggles in the post-pandemic market amid flagging its Covid-19 vaccine sales. The company recently reported $1 billion in fourth quarter revenue. This has dropped sharply from the $2.8 billion recorded in the same quarter in 2023.
The company was awarded a contract on January 17 by HHS's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Bureau.
At the time, HHS said the deal would allow Moderna to “accelerate the development of an H5N1 mRNA influenza vaccine that matches the strains currently circulating in cattle and birds.
Moderna I said In January, they were ready to begin a large-scale late-stage vaccine trial. But without the funds, that may not happen.
Moderna did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
