The latest funding is a sign of how seriously the Biden administration appears to be taking the pandemic threat.

Moderna has been testing an mRNA candidate for influenza viruses like the H5 and H7 strains that are seen as pandemic threats. Others, including GSK and Pfizer, are also at work on similar shots.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award roughly $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines, including vaccines for avian flu strains, to ensure the United States is better prepared for future potential pandemics, according to a recent HHS news release.

A new strain of bird flu has been confirmed at a duck farm in California, the first time the variant has been discovered in poultry in the United States, an international agency said.