Wishful thinking on HPAI from the Biden administration

The White House wants to stop avian influenza by vaccination but, for now at least, it simply cannot. In March 2023, the New York Times reported the executive branch is considering action to mandate mass vaccination of commercial poultry against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). This comes as the disease continues to take its toll on consumers in the form of sky-high egg prices and present a frightening possibility of more cross-species infections.

The same report said President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is sweating pressure from inflation, too. An action could show Americans the White House is doing something to stop the disease and its economic effects. From a practical standpoint, the U.S. can’t vaccinate its birds right now. HPAI vaccination is not federally authorized and there is no clearly effective vaccine currently available for use against the H5N1 strain of HPAI in the U.S. Read more