Given the outbreaks of avian flu registered in several countries around the world, the European Union has obtained a batch of preventive vaccines to prepare for a possible spread among humans.
The European Commission has jointly purchased 665,000 doses of pre-pandemic vaccine against bird flu and has chosen 40 million doses in the next four years, as announced today (June 11) by the Executive. The contract was signed by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) on behalf of fifteen Member States.
“HERA once again shows the European Health Union in action making sure we are prepared,” a Commission spokesperson said at a press conference in Brussels.
Although they have been detected several outbreaks of bird flu on farms around the worldthe Transmission to humans remains rare and is limited to those who are in close contact with infected animals and contaminated spaces. one of the last reports comes from Mexico, where A 59-year-old man died on April 24 after being infected with H5N2 bird fluconfirming the first human infection with this strain of the virus.
Since 2022 there have been notified others four cases of human infection in the United States, three of them since the beginning of this year, all among dairy farm workers. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assesses the current risk to public health as low and is currently monitoring outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows.
According to a press release, the European Commission is in contact with third country authorities to exchange information on the situation and prevention and management measures.
No human-to-human infections have been reported anywhere so far, and the risk of zoonotic transmission of influenza to the general public is considered low, as reported by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The Commission has also stated that There have been no active cases of avian influenza infection in humans reported in the EU. The first shipments of vaccines are already being prepared and will be sent to Finland for immediate vaccination of workers at risk of exposure, such as those working on poultry farms and veterinarians.
The fifteen Member States participating in this purchase do so through the EU Joint Procurement Agreement for Medical Countermeasures. This mechanism allows participating countries to jointly procure medical countermeasures on a voluntary and flexible basis.
Such countermeasures include vaccines, therapeutics and medical devicesand can be used as an alternative or complement to any national acquisition.
