Biden administration has no current plans to authorize a bird flu vaccine for humans
Biden administration officials said Wednesday they have no current plans to authorize a stockpiled bird flu vaccine, despite an escalating outbreak among livestock in the U.S. and at least 58 human infections across seven states.
Biden administration officials said Wednesday they have no current plans to authorize a stockpiled bird flu vaccine, despite an escalating outbreak among livestock in the U.S. and at least 58 human infections across seven states.
The move means any decisions about a bird flu vaccine will likely be left to health officials in the incoming Trump administration, who may be led by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump has picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
The virus has been spreading in dairy cows since the spring and had infected at least 774 herds in 16 states as of Wednesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last Friday, the Agriculture Department stepped up its response to the outbreak, issuing a federal order mandating testing of the national milk supply.
The USDA said the testing, set to begin next week in six states, will give farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and their ability to protect themselves from infection, as well as give officials a better sense of where herds are infected.
The virus’s spread in mammals that have close contact with humans is concerning for public health experts, because it gives the bird flu many opportunities to jump to people and potentially mutate to spread effectively from person to person.
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