Buoyed by promising clinical findings, Moderna says it will explore alternatives for late-stage development of the H5 vaccine.
The next steps include fleshing out mechanisms for benefit sharing, financing, and supply chain logistics.
Today a committee overwhelmingly approved the measure, 3 years in the making, which is up for a final vote in the plenary session tomorrow.
In a flu pandemic setting, the drug could be used to curb household transmission, especially early in the response, the authors say.
Complex Pandemic Accord negotiations have been under way since 2021, with 13 formal meetings and numerous informal sessions.
The WHO's pandemic exercise was the first test of a new global coordination mechanism called the Global Health Emergency Corps.
The latest polio cases include 3 WPV1 infections in Pakistan, 1 of 2 remaining endemic countries.
The group also recommended two vaccine strains for pandemic preparedness, one for the H5N1 2.3.2.1a clade and another targeting the reemerging H5N6 2.3.4.4h clade.
WHO officials said yesterday that, although communication is at a standstill, reporting continues through the International Health Regulations platform.
The support is designed to speed development of well-matched H5N1 vaccines and pave the way for vaccines against other potential pandemic threats.
