Moderna has been awarded approximately $590 million from the federal government to help speed up the development of an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine, health officials said.

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

The U.S. government has awarded Moderna $590 million to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine, as the country doubles down on efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans. This is in addition to $176 million awarded by the U.