The Biden administration is considering a mass vaccination campaign for poultry to fight the bird flu (Picture: Reuters)
The US is considering a mass vaccination campaign for poultry as the bird flu has killed tens of millions of chickens.
More than 58million farmed birds have died of the bird flu across 47 states. It has driven up the cost of eggs and raised fears of a human pandemic.
Using vaccines on poultry is one measure that the Biden administration is considering to fight the avian influenza, The New York Times reported on Monday.
‘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,’ stated a White House National Security Council spokesperson on Monday.
The bird flu has killed 58million poultry across 47 US states (Picture: Reuters)
‘Right now, we are focused on promoting and enhancing high-impact biosafety practices and procedures.’
Federal regulators have not given the green light to vaccinating poultry against H5N1 and other infectious strains of the bird flu, Agriculture Department spokesman Mike Stepien told The Times.
A few licensed bird flu vaccines are already in existence, but it is not clear if they protect against the current strain, Stepien added.
Agriculture Department scientists have been trying to develop vaccine candidates in-house, according to Erica Spackman, a research microbiologist and one of the scientists leading the agency’s poultry vaccinations testing.
Millions of infected poultry have been slaughtered to stop the bird flu spread (Picture: Reuters)
Spackman and her colleagues in the department’s Agriculture Research Service plan to test several possible jabs on chickens, turkeys and domestic ducks. The first results would not be ready to be shared until May, estimated Spackman.
‘And then there’s always the issue on the production side of how quickly the company could actually produce and supply the vaccine,’ she said.
Millions of infected fowl have been slaughtered to stop the spread of the bird flu, which has increased the price of eggs, chicken and turkey. A dozen eggs cost an average of $4.82 in January, up from $1.93 a year ago, according to Purdue University’s College of Agriculture.
The risk of a human pandemic from the bird flu is low, as infections in people are rare.
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