US government inks a deal with Moderna to make pandemic flu vaccine [Video]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday a contract with Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine that targets pandemic flu, in case the shot becomes necessary with the latest outbreak of bird flu.“This is an important step in our nation’s pandemic influenza preparedness and response capability as we look to add this additional platform to our existing portfolio of approved pandemic influenza vaccines,” Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response with HHS, said at a news conference.The government has 4.8 million doses of an H5 vaccine with a traditional platform under production, O’Connell said. The vaccine is tailored to the currently circulating strains of the H5N1 bird flu virus and should come off the finishing line starting in the middle of this month — ahead of schedule, she said.The new $176 million contract with Moderna will help the government stay “nimble” in case it needs to …