Dept. of Health Services awards Moderna $590 million to develop flu vaccines, bird flu vaccine

Omicron booster FILE PHOTO: In this Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, a sign for Moderna, Inc. hangs on its headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Moderna's experimental COVID-19 vaccine that combines its original shot with protection against the omicron variant appears to work, the company announced Wednesday, June 8, 2022. COVID-19 vaccine makers are studying updated boosters that might be offered in the fall to better protect people against future coronavirus surges.(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File) (Elise Amendola/AP)

By Miles Montgomery

ATLANTA — A vaccine for the bird flu is in the works.

The Department of Health Services has awarded $590 million to Moderna to speed up the development of flu vaccines, including one for the bird flu.

Officials said that is on top of the $176 million dollars the department provided Moderna in July of 2024.

The funds will help pay for late stage developments, licensing, and clinical studies.

Georgia is among several states that have confirmed cases of bird flu.

Bird flu has been spreading, killing millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide over the last two years, among other animals.

Nationwide, the virus has been detected in 84 commercial and backyard flocks in the last month, with 10.7 million birds on those sites, according to the latest online data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has also been confirmed in dozens of dairy farms.

In early January, the 65-year-old Louisiana man who was the first confirmed human to have the bird flu died.

On Jan. 17, the Georgia Department of Agriculture said the bird flu was found in a commercial poultry operation and was the fifth confirmed detection in the state of Georgia.