The Trump administration is looking to move away from depopulating entire flocks infected by Bird Flu. The focus will instead be on biosecurity and medication to contain the outbreaks.
Reuters reports that the USDA has given conditional approval to Zoetis to use its bird flu vaccine in poultry. Zoetis, which deals with vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics for animals, said the conditional license was granted based on safety and a reasonable expectation of efficacy. A conditional approval, also called a conditional license, is used for emergencies, limited market availability, or other special circumstances and is only issued for a certain period.
Last month, USDA committed to rebuilding a stockpile of bird flu vaccines for poultry that match the strain of virus circulating in commercial flocks and wild birds. Moderna is developing a bird flu vaccine for humans and received a large government grant for its advancement.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that USDA is working to rehire several workers who were fired after it was learned that they were directly involved in the government’s research and response to the Bird Flu epidemic.
Those workers were among the thousands of federal employees who were recently fired by President Trump upon the recommendation of Elon Musk and his team with the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“While President Trump is fulfilling his promise to shed light on waste, fraud, and abuse in government, DOGE needs to measure twice and cut once. Downsizing decisions must be narrowly tailored to preserve critical missions,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02).
Sources: NAFB News Service, Associated Press
