Two possible bird flu vaccines could be available within weeks, if needed
The U.S. has two vaccines ready that could begin shipping widely within a few weeks if the H5N1 bird flu infecting dairy cows begins spreading more easily to people, federal health officials said Wednesday.
The U.S. has two vaccines ready should the strain of bird flu circulating in dairy cows begin spreading easily to people, federal health officials said Wednesday. They could begin shipping doses widely within weeks, if needed.
So far, there’s no evidence that H5N1 is spreading person-to-person, although one dairy worker in Texas who worked closely with infected cattle had a mild infection and developed conjunctivitis, or pinkeye, in April.
At a briefing Wednesday, government health officials said they are preparing for a potential scenario of H5N1 jumping from animal to person — or person to person. The virus has taken off in dairy cows, infecting at least 36 herds across nine states, raising concerns that it could acquire mutations that would make it easier to spill over into humans.
Studies “suggest that the vaccines will offer good cross-protection against cattle outbreak viruses,” Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on the call Wednesday.
Both of the vaccine candidates are already in the nation’s stockpile in limited quantities, officials said in a previous interview.
Rating: 5