Canada buys 500,000 doses of H5N1 avian influenza vaccine for those most at risk [Video]

The Public Health Agency of Canada said Wednesday it’s purchased 500,000 doses of a human vaccine to protect against avian influenza for those most at risk from being exposed to the virus by infected animals.

PHAC said it had secured the initial supply of GSK’s Arepanrix H5N1 A/America vaccine by leveraging an existing agreement.

“While the current risk to the public remains low, individuals with higher-level exposure to infected animals are at increased risk and should take appropriate precautions,” the agency said in a statement. 

Canada reported its first domestically acquired human case of avian influenza, known formally as A(H5N1), on Nov. 9, 2024, when a teen patient in B.C. was placed on life support. The teen needed significant respiratory support, doctors say, then began to improve and was discharged from hospital on Jan. 7.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is comparing the genetic features of the teen’s avian flu strain with that of a Louisiana …