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From: RonO <rokimoto557@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: talk.origins
Subject: HHS cancels Moderna H5 influenza vaccine
Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 18:36:55 -0500
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https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/hhs-cancels-funding-moderna-s-candidate-h5-avian-flu-and-pandemic-vaccines

This seems stupid since mRNA vaccines would be the fastest way to 
respond to H5N1 if it ever does make the jump to human infection.  They 
would need an H5 vaccine that would produce antibodies that could 
neutralize the virus.  They already know that the virus has changed a 
lot in the dairy herd, and they had to make a synthetic antigen with the 
H5 genotype B3.13 sequence found in the Missouri patient in order to 
look for neutralizing antibodies.  They did initial testing on the Texas 
B3.13 dairy virus and it was neutralized by antibodies produced by H5 
vaccine strains that the CDC had, but that obviously changed by the time 
the Missouri patient was infected.  In the case of the D1.1 genotype 
that infected humans they didn't even try to test existing H5 vaccine 
strains against it.  The D1.1 H5 sequence is very different from the 
B3.13 sequence.

This just means that they need to make a vaccine to the virus that might 
make the jump to humans.  Apparently Moderna had a working vaccine, and 
had gotten more funding to work it up, but that has been canceled.  For 
mRNA vaccines you can make the antigen any sequence that you want it to 
be.  It is the basis for making updated mRNA vaccines for Covid, and 
would be expected to work for influenza.  The H5 vaccine that the CDC 
stockpiled is likely worthless against many of the variants currently 
infecting cattle and dairy and poultry workers.

Ron Okimoto