WHO Announces Initiative to Advance Development of mRNA Bird Flu Vaccine

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday an initiative to accelerate the development and accessibility of bird flu vaccines using advanced messenger RNA technology to better prepare for the next pandemic.

In a press release, the WHO announced that Argentinian manufacturer Sinergium Biotech will lead this effort, utilizing the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP).

“This initiative exemplifies why WHO established the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme – to foster greater research, development and production in low- and middle-income countries, so that when the next pandemic arrives, the world will be better prepared to mount a more effective and more equitable response,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

The WHO claims that avian influenza viruses pose a significant public health risk due to their widespread circulation in animals and potential to cause a future pandemic.

The H5N1 bird flu first emerged in 1996, but since 2020, the WHO claims there has been an exponential increase in outbreaks among birds. This surge has been accompanied by the virus increasingly jumping to mammals, including cattle on US farms, and a few human cases.

Martin Friede, head of the WHO’s vaccine research unit, highlighted the advantages of developing mRNA-based vaccines for establishing sustainable production capacity. Previous efforts to boost influenza vaccine production in developing countries often faltered, with facilities focused on egg-based pandemic influenza jabs closing once the threat dissipated and governments stopped procuring doses.

“The advantage of mRNA is that, in theory, we can make a COVID vaccine, we can make H5N1 vaccines, but also many other vaccines and importantly also therapeutics,” Friede told reporters.

Friede stated that half of the manufacturers in the program have already started installing the necessary equipment to develop and produce mRNA-based vaccines, enabling them to respond much more swiftly if a disaster strikes again.

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