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Ch3mee t1_j9uj9nh wrote

Reply to comment by sciolycaptain in Does the common flu vaccine offer any buffer against H5N1 (Bird Flu)? by Esc_ape_artist

I was responding to a post saying there is already an H5N1 vaccine developed. I don't know if that's true, but its not that unbelievable it could be. My point is that if the H5N1 vaccine is already developed, then that significantly shortens the timeline. The lag just becomes the manufacturing ramp, but that can be retooled fairly quickly, and supplies can start moving almost immediately. The lag will be from the first people to get a dose to supply for the eventual demand. That can be slow, but with some planning and foresight, batches of vaccines can be deployed following patterns of outbreak. Basically, instead of months, vaccines could start hitting problem areas in days if there is already some inventory or weeks as production starts on an approved formulation.

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IslandDoggo t1_j9ur288 wrote

Part of what made covid a problem was it being novel. H5N1 means a lot of awful things for us, potentially. But it is not novel. We know this enemy.

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PhoenixReborn t1_j9vbscq wrote

Flu strains mutate rapidly. That's why they're updated and administered every year. We have a vaccine, but it hasn't been designed for the current sequence. The typical turnaround time for the annual flu vaccine is six months.

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