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

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.

The agency said it 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 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 patient who died in January. The U.S. patient, who was over the age of 65 and had underlying health conditions, shared one of the three genetic mutations identified in the Canadian patient’s strain, which infectious disease experts have said could make it easier for the virus to infect humans.

To date, Canadian health officials say there has been no evidence of sustained person-to-person spread of the virus in any cases found in the world.

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Canadian dairy farmers are ramping up surveillance after a second strain of avian flu was found in cattle in the United States, where the virus has prompted a reduction in milk production. No cases have been reported in Canadian cows so far.

The agency said 60 per cent of available vaccine doses will go to provinces and territories, while the rest will be stockpiled “for national preparedness.”

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Canada’s advisory group on vaccines, has also released preliminary guidance on using the vaccine in a non-pandemic context.

Health officials are watching the pandemic potential of H5N1, as well as other influenza viruses, since when a virus gains the ability to spread easily between humans, it can spark a global pandemic.

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