The Biden administration is ramping up efforts to combat a potential bird flu outbreak in humans, committing an additional $306 million towards battling the virus. The move comes as federal health officials closely monitor H5N1, a strain of avian influenza that has spread to cattle and poses a significant threat to human health.
The investment will be distributed across various programs, including improving hospital preparedness, early stage research on therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines. About $103 million will support state and local efforts to track and test people exposed to infected animals, as well as outreach to livestock workers and others at high risk.
This latest effort reflects growing concern among senior federal health officials that the Trump administration may slash budgets for agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health. The Biden administration is also trying to fill the gap by allocating funds before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.
The CDC reports that the risk to humans remains low, but experts warn that a pandemic could be far more deadly than Covid-19 if human-to-human transmission becomes commonplace. Dr. Paul Friedrichs, director of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, emphasized that keeping communities healthy, safe, and informed is a top priority.
The administration has already spent over $1.8 billion battling bird flu since last spring, with most of that funding coming from the federal Agriculture Department. The new funds will be used to bolster existing programs, which can also help prepare for other pathogens.
The timing of the announcement coincides with growing concern about H5N1 and a recent state of emergency declared in California over dairy cows infected with bird flu. Experts have accused the Biden administration of a lackluster response to the pandemic, but this latest effort is seen as a welcome signal that they are taking the threat seriously.
The CDC has ramped up testing and surveillance of H5N1, contracted with commercial manufacturers to make diagnostic tests, and awarded $176 million to Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine against the virus. About 200 C.D.C. scientists are currently working on bird flu, including Dr. Nirav D. Shah, who noted that each time the virus infects another person, it has another opportunity to mutate in a way that might increase its capability of spreading among people.
The administration’s efforts come as scores of people in the United States have contracted bird flu over the past year, mostly from infected cows or poultry. While most cases have been mild, experts warn that the situation could worsen if human-to-human transmission becomes more common.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/us/politics/bird-flu-biden-trump.html