White House weighs mass poultry vaccination amid bird flu outbreakThe Hill, Mar 6, 2023
The Biden administration is considering the use of vaccines in poultry as one option to address a bird flu epidemic that has killed millions of chickens and contributed to high egg prices.
“There are a range of options the United States regularly considers when there is any outbreak that could affect the security and safety of the United States’ food supply,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement on Monday. “Right now, we are focused on promoting and enhancing high-impact biosafety practices and procedures.”
Those safety procedures include efforts to prevent transmission of the bird flu through enhanced disinfection among workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring the threat of the avian flu’s risk to humans, which is considered to be low. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been responding whenever the flu is detected among bird populations, and the agency has begun testing potential poultry vaccines. No such vaccine is authorized yet.
More:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3887075-white-house-weighs-mass-poultry-vaccination-amid-bird-flu-outbreak/
