Bird flu does not spread easily among people and a vaccine may not become necessary.
So far only three dairy farm workers have caught bird flu. But U.S. health officials say they have two vaccines ready if the strain currently circulating in dairy cows begin spreading more easily to people, or begins spreading person-to-person.
Here’s what you need to know about a bird flu vaccine:
Q: Is there a bird flu vaccine?
A: Yes. Studies suggest two candidate vaccine viruses appear well-matched to protect against the H5N1 strain circulating among dairy cattle and birds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Both of the vaccine candidates are in the nation’s stockpile in limited quantities. And BARDA (The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority which is part of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services) has enough building blocks for vaccines ― including adjuvants, potent substances which can trigger a stronger immune response from a vaccine — to make millions of doses.
Q: How long would it take for them to become available?
Should the U.S. need vaccines, the federal government has hundreds of thousands of vaccines ready to ship, a spokesperson for the federal government’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
It could have over 100 million doses shipped within about three to four months.
Mass production could scale up quickly if needed, according to federal authorities.
But it’s not so simple. Pharmaceutical companies can be called to make vaccines for flu, but these vaccines would be manufactured on the same production lines used for seasonal flu.
Before starting large-scale manufacturing, federal officials would need to think through the implications of disrupting seasonal flu production for a new shot.
Q: Would the vaccine really work? What if the bird flu strain evolves?
The CDC says it is monitoring any changes in the strain and the vaccine can be altered to protect newer strains.
But some experts are skeptical and don’t think there’s been enough testing done yet to know how well the two candidate vaccines would really work, especially since the virus would need to change to make it a threat to people.
Q: Is a bird flu vaccine needed now?
No. Right now, the H5N1 bird flu remains primarily an animal health issue.
Who might need a vaccine and how many doses might be needed depend on how the virus changes and how widespread it becomes, according to the CDC.
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