UK prepares five million vaccine doses in case of bird flu pandemic

The UK has secured a contract for more than five million doses of a bird flu vaccine, to be used if the H5N1 strain spreads among humans, as part of preparations for any possible influenza pandemic. The UKHSA says at this stage there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

More than five million doses of a vaccine are being prepared in the UK to combat any potential bird flu pandemic.

The jab – the human H5 influenza vaccine – is only intended for use if a strand of the virus known as H5N1 spreads among humans.

The agency said the purchase is part of “long-established plans” to boost the UK’s access to vaccines “for a wider range of pathogens of pandemic potential”.

Dr Meera Chand, emerging infection lead at the agency, said “early access to vaccines saves lives”.

“It is important for us to be prepared against a range of different influenza viruses that may pose human health risks,” she added.

“Adding H5 vaccines to the interventions already available to us will help us to be ready for a wider range of threats.”

There are different types of the virus, with H5N1 causing a “prolonged global outbreak” over the past few years primarily in birds, the UKHSA said.

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, said the emergence of a new strain is at the “top of the list of pandemic threats”.

“So providing resilience against potential risky flu types, like H5, is important for future pandemic and outbreak preparedness,” he added.

“H5 is only one of the multiple families of flu viruses that create such a risk, so we should not be complacent.

“But H5 is the one that we are most concerned about today as a result of the global spread of this virus among birds and various mammals, and worryingly across the US among cattle this year.”

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