U.S. awards Moderna $590 million to speed up development of bird flu vaccine : NPR

U.S. awards Moderna 0 million to speed up development of bird flu vaccine : NPR


Moderna headquarters, exterior view, in Cambridge, Mass.

Moderna headquarters, exterior view, in Cambridge, Mass.

Plexi Images/Universal Images Group Editorial via Getty Images


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Plexi Images/Universal Images Group Editorial via Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it will award $590 million to Moderna to accelerate the development of influenza vaccines, including to protect against bird flu.

“Accelerating the development of new vaccines will allow us to stay ahead and ensure that Americans have the tools they need to stay safe,” outgoing HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Friday.

Turkeys at a farm as California declares state of emergency to prevent new public health crisis on Bird flu in Pescadero, California, in December.

The money will go to Moderna, the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company that previously developed a COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2023, Moderna has been working to create a “pandemic influenza vaccine” which would help protect against certain viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu.

The new funds build on the $176 million that HHS gave to Moderna last July. On Friday, Moderna said the additional funding will help pay for late-stage development, licensure of the vaccines and expanding clinical studies for additional subtypes of pandemic influenza to prevent other potential public health emergencies.

Over the past several months, bird flu has spread rapidly throughout the U.S.

It has mostly infected livestock and other mammals, but there have been at least 67 confirmed human cases so far, including one death in Louisiana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California currently accounts for more than half of human infections.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 08: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Health and Human Services walks to a meeting with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sander (I-VT) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump's nominees for his incoming administration continue to meet with senators on Capitol Hill, weeks before his inauguration. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The public health risk remains low, but HHS Secretary Becerra said bird flu variants have proven to be unpredictable, which is why the virus is a top priority for the federal government.

On Thursday, the CDC issued an alert urging hospitals to speed up efforts to test people who they suspect have an infection.



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Powerball ticket worth $328.5 million sold in Oregon

Powerball ticket worth 8.5 million sold in Oregon


The first Powerball jackpot of 2025 was sold in Oregon and is worth $328.5 million, according to lottery officials.

The winner purchased the winning ticket in Beaverton on Thursday, Jan. 17, the Oregon Lottery said. The retail location will not be revealed until a winner has come forward.

The winning numbers for the Saturday drawing were: 14, 31, 35, 64 and 69 and Powerball 23.

The winner has a year to claim their prize, Oregon Lottery spokesperson Melanie Mesaros said. After the winning ticket is presented, “it will take time before a winner can be identified due to security and payment processes.”

Oregon lottery winners, with few exceptions, cannot remain anonymous, Mesaros said.

The winner will have a choice between an annuitized prize of $328.5 million or a lump-sum payment of $146.4 million, according to lottery officials, which are both options before taxes.

Last year, the largest Powerball prize won in Oregon — a $1.3 billion jackpot — was split between a Portland man, his wife, and friend.

Before Saturday, the most recent Powerball jackpot was sold in December in New York and was worth $256 million.

Powerball is a multi-state jackpot operated by 44 states, plus the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Fernando Cervantes Jr., a news reporter for USA TODAY, contributed to this story.

Cherrill Crosby is the executive editor of the Statesman Journal and The Register-Guard. Reach her at crosbyc@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Powerball ticket worth $328.5 million sold in Beaverton, Oregon



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