Europe will have access to more than 600,000 doses of bird flu vaccine

Supplies of human vaccine against avian influenza transmission are arriving in Europe. The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has just signed a contract with British pharmaceutical company Seqirus for more than 600,000 vaccine doses. Through this contract, participating Member States will have access to medical countermeasures to prevent the spread of the disease.

bird flu

Let us briefly recall that the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus, which can infect almost all species of birds, continues to mutate. And through migration, strains circulating outside Europe could reach that continent and carry variants that are potentially increasingly capable of infecting mammals, as has already been documented. This is according to a recent report from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which highlights the risk of large-scale transmission if the virus becomes capable of spreading between people. In addition, just a few days ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the death (which it later clarified) in Mexico of the first person infected with a specific subtype of bird flu. “Human infection with a new subtype of influenza A virus is an event that could have a serious public health impact and should be reported to WHO,” the agency said, but emphasized that “the current risk posed by the virus to the general public is population remains low.”

Which countries will receive the vaccine?

According to a recent communication from the European Commission, HERA has signed a joint framework contract on behalf of participating Member States for the supply of up to 665,000 doses of pre-pandemic avian influenza vaccine. The fifteen states for which it was adopted are Denmark, Latvia, France, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Iceland and Norway.

. Thus, the contract will allow them to take into account the public health situation and order vaccines according to their needs. Countries reported Il Sole 24 hours They remain free to procure vaccines through their own national procedures, regardless of whether they participate in joint procurement or not. Supplies are currently being prepared for Finland for immediate vaccination of workers at risk of infection. The four-year contract also includes the option to supply 40 million additional doses.

Who will receive the doses?

The vaccine is designed to prevent the spread or possible outbreaks of avian influenza in Europe and will be targeted at people at greatest risk of potentially transmitting avian influenza or other animals. “The Seqirus vaccine,” the note says, “is the only preventive vaccine against zoonotic avian influenza currently authorized in the EU.” The vaccines, it is specified, “are intended for people at highest risk of infection, mainly those who work in poultry farms and veterinarians.”

Article originally published in WIRED Italy. Adapted by Mauricio Serfati Godoy.