Five million vaccines ordered to the UK in preparation for potential ‘next Co…

The UK has reportedly ordered five million vaccines against bird flu after concerns that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza could lead to the next global health crisis.

As the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic approaches, the country is preparing for another virus, labelled as “one mutation from being the next Covid.”

Currently, the bird flu cannot spread between humans. However, scientists are monitoring it closely following recent outbreaks in US dairy cattle.

The i newspaper reported that CSL Seqirus, one of the largest influenza vaccine providers, is prepared to produce over 100 million pandemic vaccines if required.

The outbreak in the US is what raised alarm bells about the potential risk of the virus.

It has hit several states in the US, with California being the latest to declare an emergency and just a few days ago, Louisana recorded its first “severe” human case of bird flu.

There have been 939 human cases of bird flu recorded across the world since 939, with 464 deaths. All were caught directly from birds or animals.

Although the risk to humans is low, the virus in dairy cattle that have regular contact with humans is causing concerns for scientists.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has advised that it is “primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low.”

However, a recent study in the Science journal reveals that the virus could be one mutation away from being easily transmissible between humans.

Scientists at Scripps Research in San Diego explain that the specific mutation called Q226L is what could get the virus to attach to human-cell receptors but for human to human transmission to happen, researchers noted that the virus would need additional genetic mutations.

The five million vaccine doses which were awarded in autumn will be held in reserve ready for use if the threat level reaches to level 5. The UKHSA and Animal and Plant Health Agency conduct regular checks on poultry workers to look for potential human cases.

Scientists in the UK are also researching the spread among poultry as well as testing marine mammals.

A Government spokesman said: “We continually update our pandemic planning as concerns about infectious diseases emerge and recently announced the purchase of more than five million doses of human H5 influenza to ensure we are prepared.”