DELMARVA - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted a conditional license for drug company Zoetis' vaccine for avian influenza.
While its use could still be a year or more away, there are growing concerns about what impact avian vaccinations could have on the poultry industry, including here on Delmarva.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has questions about the vaccine's efficacy. "The way I would think about it is it's almost like the flu vaccine, right? Most people get it, but it only works 1 out of every 2 or 3 times. Before we start sticking our chickens, we need to ensure and putting that into the food supply that we know exactly what we're doing," she said.
U.S. Senator Tim Kaine took our question about the vaccine's conditional approval as an opportunity to highlight his concerns about President Trump's DOGE layoffs at federal agencies, including the USDA.
"I was heartened by the conditional approval, and I hope that, the Trump administration's sacking of employees and the various, agriculture and public health agencies does not slow down the effort, to deploy the vaccine," he said.
Some of the biggest names in Delmarva's poultry industry, the Delmarva Chicken Association and Perdue Farms, suggested we reach out to the National Chicken Council on this topic.
Its reaction to the vaccine was two fold: "we appreciate the measured and science-based approach for the potential use of an effective and applicable vaccine for laying hens and turkeys, and the administration’s commitment to work with our trading partners to minimize any potential negative trade effects should a vaccine ever be used," a Wednesday statement said.
However, the National Chicken Council also raised concerns about the impact vaccinations could have on U.S. exports to other countries that do not recognize bird flu vaccines.
"Most countries, including the U.S., do not recognize countries that vaccinate as free of the HPAI due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus. Therefore, these countries do not import from countries that do vaccinate," the Council said.
That's a concern shared by Delaware U.S. Senator Chris Coons, co-chair of the U.S. Senate Chicken Council. He said in a joint statement "vaccination in any poultry sector – egg layers, turkeys, broilers, or ducks – will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products."
France could be seen as a case study bolstering those concerns. In 2023, the European nation required a bird flu vaccine for ducks that were intended for human consumption. While it diminished bird flu outbreaks from 1,000 a year to just two, it also hurt France's ability to export those ducks.
As for Secretary Rollins? She wants to see more proof. "Mexico vaccinates their egg layers and they still are hit with about 80% even vaccinated with this avian flu. Instead we're going to put some significant funding into researching how we get to that point," she said.