$5 Million Funds Flu Shots for Farm Workers

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that it would spend $5 million to purchase influenza vaccines for farm workers to address concerns about avian influenza in dairy cows and poultry.

The CDC says avian influenza, or "bird flu," is a contagious viral disease.

According to the AP, the U.S. government will promote the new quadrivalent and trivalent flu shots to 200,000 people working in this industry sector.

Last flu season, about 158 million flu vaccines were distributed in the U.S.

“We want to do everything we can to reduce the risk that the (highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5)) virus may change,” said the CDC’s Dr. Nirav Shah during a conference call on July 30, 2024.

However, Dr. Shah added that annual flu shots do not protect people against avian influenza viruses but reduce the spreading of seasonal influenza viruses and may reduce coinfections.

Additionally, U.S. officials have been discussing offering new H5N1 vaccines to farm workers, but no decision has been made. Based on available data, the DC’s current assessment is that the risk of H5N1 to the general public remains low. 

The CDC recommends avoiding unprotected exposure to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, foxes, bears, seals, other domesticated birds, and dairy cows.

Before 2024, a Colorado poultry worker reported the only human case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. in April 2022.