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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Amid rising egg prices, USDA will invest $1 billion to combat the avian flu through a multi-pronged approach but will not authorize a vaccine at this time.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told senators Thursday he would support the development and distribution of avian flu vaccines for people if confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. But he later qualified that commitment by saying he would not back a specific vaccine before examining the science.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal critic of U.S. food systems and federal nutrition scientists, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and take on the "industrial food complex."
The Agriculture Department is taking a deliberate approach to the question of whether cows should be inoculated against avian flu, even as some vaccine developers report substantial demand for a vaccine from dairy farmers worried about lost milk production.
New technology with a Department of Agriculture stamp of approval could offer speedy help to hog producers hit by emerging disease outbreaks. And beef producers may soon see the benefits as well.
In this opinion piece, Steve Boren with Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health discusses the need for increased preparedness to prevent global disease outbreaks and highlights how COVID-19 illustrated the important role that vaccines play in the fight against highly contagious diseases.
