US and some EU states consider building stocks of bird flu vaccines for at-risk dairy and poultry workers

A spokeswoman for CSL, which has contracts for pandemic influenza vaccines with 30 governments, said the company had been in talks with several governments about procuring vaccines since 2022

The European Commission's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority is working on a joint procurement of CSL Seqirus's vaccine to 'potentially prevent a pandemic' sparked by individuals exposed to infected birds and animals. Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The US and Europe are taking steps to acquire or manufacture H5N1 bird flu vaccines that could be used to protect at-risk poultry and dairy workers, veterinarians and lab technicians, government officials said, moves influenza experts say could curb the threat of a pandemic.

US officials last week said they were moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses of vaccine. European health officials told Reuters they were in talks to acquire CSL's pre-pandemic vaccine.