Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), under newly appointed Secretary Brooke Rollins, granted a conditional license for Zoetis’ avian influenza vaccine for use in chickens.
According to Zoetis, the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) issued the license based on the vaccine’s “safety, purity, and reasonable expectation of efficacy, as demonstrated through serology data,” or blood tests measuring immune response.
However, this is a conditional license. The vaccine — officially named “Avian Influenza Vaccine, H5N2 Subtype, Killed Virus” — has not yet undergone full-scale field trials to prove its long-term effectiveness. Conditional approval allows limited use of the vaccine during an emergency.
Avian influenza vaccines have been available for years. Yet, American farmers have largely avoided using them. The reasons were a combination of trade restrictions, logistical challenges, and concerns about viral mutation and cross-species transmission. Vaccines are a standard tool in combating poultry diseases. However, HPAI vaccination has been controversial and rarely implemented on a large scale.
It must be stressed that many chickens survive the virus and develop natural immunity, making both culling and vaccinations unnecessary.
In parallel to this, Moderna is developing new mRNA-based vaccines to combat bird flu in humans. In the final days of Biden’s term, the company received a $590 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of pandemic influenza vaccines, including those targeting avian influenza strains. The initiative aims to prevent potential spillover infections from animals to humans by leveraging the same mRNA technology used in Covid vaccines, which HHS described as “successful” in its press release.
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thenewamerican.com
According to Zoetis, the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) issued the license based on the vaccine’s “safety, purity, and reasonable expectation of efficacy, as demonstrated through serology data,” or blood tests measuring immune response.
However, this is a conditional license. The vaccine — officially named “Avian Influenza Vaccine, H5N2 Subtype, Killed Virus” — has not yet undergone full-scale field trials to prove its long-term effectiveness. Conditional approval allows limited use of the vaccine during an emergency.
Avian influenza vaccines have been available for years. Yet, American farmers have largely avoided using them. The reasons were a combination of trade restrictions, logistical challenges, and concerns about viral mutation and cross-species transmission. Vaccines are a standard tool in combating poultry diseases. However, HPAI vaccination has been controversial and rarely implemented on a large scale.
It must be stressed that many chickens survive the virus and develop natural immunity, making both culling and vaccinations unnecessary.
In parallel to this, Moderna is developing new mRNA-based vaccines to combat bird flu in humans. In the final days of Biden’s term, the company received a $590 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of pandemic influenza vaccines, including those targeting avian influenza strains. The initiative aims to prevent potential spillover infections from animals to humans by leveraging the same mRNA technology used in Covid vaccines, which HHS described as “successful” in its press release.
Complete Article
Bird Flu Vaccine Conditionally Approved for Use in Chickens. Will It Hatch New Risks?
Last week, the USDA granted a conditional license for Zoetis’ avian influenza vaccine for use in chickens.
thenewamerican.com
