USDA (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) has conditionally approved a vaccine to protect the nation’s poultry flocks against bird flu, preparing to join the other nations – including China, France, Egypt, and Mexico – that vaccinate poultry against H5N1.
Although many influenza researchers contend that vaccination can help control spread of the deadly virus, the U.S. government has until now resisted allowing its use because of politics and trade concerns some contend are unscientific. Even with the conditional approval, according to science.org, USDA must still approve its use before farmers can start to administer the vaccine. That’s because special regulations apply to H5N1 and other so-called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses.
CNN reports that Zoetis, the manufacturer behind the vaccine, announced the conditional approval Friday, saying in a news release its scientists had begun updating its existing avian flu vaccine in 2022.
“We’ve been working with the administration and with Congress, and we’re very excited today to get the licensure for (the vaccine) in poultry, which we think will be a tool that we will help support the government as they deem necessary,” Zoetis CEO Kristin Peck told CNBC Friday.
While other countries have developed a vaccine, the U.S. has been primarily attacking the virus by killing infected flocks.