UK Begins Trial of Bird Flu Vaccine Against Potential Pandemic Strain

The United Kingdom has started immunising volunteers with a new mRNA vaccine designed to protect against the H5N1 bird flu strain, which poses a potential pandemic threat.

The vaccine trial is focusing on groups considered at higher risk, including poultry workers and individuals over the age of 65.

The first volunteers have received the vaccine at clinics across the UK, including one in Southampton where Clare Howard, a long-time chicken keeper, was among the initial participants.

The trial aims to recruit 4,000 volunteers, with approximately three-quarters enrolled at 26 sites across England and Scotland, and the remainder in the United States.

The UK Health Protection Agency has stated that the current risk to humans remains low, with 116 confirmed human cases worldwide since 2024, mostly linked to close contact with infected animals.

However, the H5N1 strain is evolving and spreading across animal species, raising concerns about the possibility of human-to-human transmission.

Dr Rebecca Clark, the trial's national coordinating investigator based at Layton Medical Centre in Blackpool, described the trial as a proactive measure to prepare against any future pandemic.

The study will evaluate the vaccine's safety and its ability to generate a strong immune response.

If successful, the vaccine could be licensed for use and manufactured at a plant in Oxfordshire capable of producing up to 100 million doses annually, with potential to increase to 250 million in a pandemic scenario.

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