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.

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 US Department of Health and Human Services will award $590 million to Moderna to continue developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu, the pharmaceutical company announced Friday.

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 current public-health risk is low, but the CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposure.

As fears grow of a possible bird flu pandemic in humans, the federal government is pouring more money into the development of new vaccines, including an mRNA shot.