Urgent Plea for USDA to Fast-Track Bird Flu Vaccine Amid Devastating Poultry Losses

.S. senators are ramping up pressure on the USDA to fast-track a science-based bird flu vaccination plan for poultry amid ongoing outbreaks that have killed over 180 million birds since 2022. Vet Candy reports that a bipartisan group of 23 senators sent a letter this week to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, demanding urgency as infections surge in winter months driven by wild bird migration and farm vulnerabilities.

The plea highlights frustrations with biosecurity alone, which USDA officials call the primary defense but veterinarians say falls short. Despite a June confirmation of vaccine development and 400 research proposals from a 100 million dollar federal fund for egg-laying hens, no timelines or decisions have emerged. Frontline vets face uncertainty, advising producers on depopulation while trade concerns loom, as many countries ban imports from vaccinated flocks.

Politics add tension: the Trump administration axed a 700 million dollar Moderna human bird flu vaccine contract, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has slashed other vaccine funding, stirring worries in animal health circles despite distinctions between human and poultry shots.

Globally, bird flu persists, but U.S. focus sharpens on poultry losses threatening egg and meat supplies. The CDC's latest flu report for week 52, ending December 27 and released January 5, notes elevated seasonal influenza but no fresh H5N1 human cases in the past day.

No major human infections or new outbreaks reported in the last 24 hours, keeping the virus primarily an animal crisis.

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