On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) reported the first human death in the country from the H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu.

Despite the death, CDC believes that the risk to the general public remains low due to a lack of evidence of human-to-human transmission. However, the regulatory body remains vigilant and even uses its flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5N1 activity, especially in people exposed to animals. There is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

As of Jan. 6, the CDC confirmed 66 human cases of H5N1 virus in the country since the beginning of last year. In most of these cases, the patient experienced only mild symptoms like eye redness, with some reports of fever and respiratory symptoms.

The agency also remains alert for H5N1 activities outside the country. Over 950 cases of H5N1 flu have been reported to the World Health Organization, half of which have resulted in death.

Vaccine Stocks Surge on CDC Report of Death

Shares of several vaccine makers, including Moderna MRNA, Novavax NVAX, BioNTech BNTX and CureVac CVAC, surged on Tuesday as investors focused on the potential demand for vaccines targeting the H5N1 virus.

Moderna and Novavax were the biggest gainers from this surge, soaring 11.7% and 10.9%, respectively, on Tuesday. Shares of BioNTech and CureVac rose more than 5% each. Pfizer stock climbed nearly 1%.

Some of the vaccine makers mentioned above are already developing a vaccine for bird flu. Moderna is evaluating its mRNA-based bird flu vaccine mRNA-1018 in an ongoing phase I/II study against H5 and H7 avian influenza viruses. Last year, MRNA was awarded $176 million by the U.S. government to accelerate the development of this vaccine.

Last year, CureVac started a phase I/II study on its bird flu vaccine. CVAC is developing this investigational mRNA-based vaccine in partnership with GSK.

Novavax also mentioned last year that it is conducting pre-clinical studies on a vaccine for H5N1 bird flu. NVAX claimed that this vaccine uses a new approach to immunize against the virus.

The signs of a potential bird flu transmission have provided some respite to these vaccine-focused stocks, especially to those who made COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine makers, especially Moderna and Pfizer, have been suffering a heavy beatdown in product sales and market value as COVID-19 cases have significantly dropped compared with the last couple of years. Investors are counting on these companies to lead the fight against another potential pandemic (if one does arise).

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