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(The Epoch Times)—Officials in the United States, Canada, and Europe are considering the vaccination of workers and others against the highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The U.S. government is “looking closely” at the possibility of vaccinating farm workers and others in close contact with the virus, according to Dawn O’Connell, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the U.S. Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, said she has been in discussions with U.S. and Canadian officials about using vaccines to protect workers after the influenza, or bird flu, jumped from birds to cattle.
The first cases of H5N1, a strain of the flu, in cattle were detected earlier this year, although some scientists say available evidence points to the cases cropping up in late 2023.
Discussions about using vaccines to try to prevent a pandemic are ongoing at the government level and among scientists in several places, including the UK, said Wendy Barclay, chair in influenza virology at University College London, who also researches avian flu for the UK Health Security Agency.
The UK government did not comment but said it is monitoring the situation in the United States.
In the European Union, the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority is working on a joint procurement of CSL Seqirus’s vaccine to “potentially prevent a pandemic” sparked by individuals exposed to infected birds and animals, spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker said.
A spokeswoman for CSL, which has contracts for pandemic influenza vaccines with 30 governments, said the company has been in talks with several governments about procuring vaccines since 2022.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a CSL influenza A vaccine in 2020, based largely on immunogenicity and safety results from a small clinical trial of 319 people.
Dr. Peter McCullough, an epidemiologist based in Texas, said on the social media platform X that without larger trials, it’s not possible to know whether the vaccine is safe or effective in humans.
The formulation for the CSL shot has been updated to more closely match the bird flu, which is an influenza A virus.
U.S. officials said recently that they’re planning to produce 4.8 million doses of the updated CSL vaccine. European health officials also said they were in talks to acquire CSL’s shot.
Canadian health officials said they have met with GSK, maker of Canada’s seasonal flu shots, to discuss acquiring and manufacturing a prepandemic bird flu vaccine.
The United States is in talks with Pfizer and Moderna, which make messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines, about potential pandemic vaccines.
University of Pennsylvania researchers said in a May 23 paper that their experimental mRNA bird flu vaccine performed well in preclinical testing in ferrets.
Since the bird flu cases in cattle were first detected, cases have been confirmed in 63 herds across nine states, including Colorado, Michigan, and South Dakota, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Human Cases
Two cases in humans—one in Michigan and one in Texas—have also been confirmed. Both have since recovered. Analysis of virus samples from the patients showed high similarities to the virus spreading in cows.
Richard Webby, a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital virologist who studies flu in animals and birds for the World Health Organization, said the situation in dairy cattle merits vaccine use.
“If we look at the exposure levels that some of these farmers are getting, it’s high,” Mr. Webby said.
The decision on how and when to use the vaccine will hinge on evidence of increased transmission, severity of disease, cases in people with no link to a dairy farm, and mutations in the virus, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah said.
The agency says on its website that the government is developing bird flu vaccines “in case they are needed.”
Human exposure to the virus in poultry and dairy operations could increase the risk that the virus will mutate and gain the ability to spread easily in people. Vaccines that perform poorly can also increase that risk.
So far, only one change has been detected in the human cases, the CDC said on May 24.
“These data indicate viruses detected in both cows and the two human cases maintain primarily avian genetic characteristics and lack changes that would make them better adapted to infect or transmit between humans,” the agency stated.
For now, CDC officials say the best way to avoid bird flu is to stay away from infected animals, fluids, and feces.
Workers who must come into contact with animals are advised to wear protective equipment and monitor themselves for symptoms, which include fatigue.
People who do become sick can take influenza antivirals, which are more effective when received shortly after symptoms develop.
Health officials also recommend cooking eggs and poultry to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, cooking beef to appropriate temperatures, and only consuming pasteurized milk.
Testing of beef found a surrogate virus was still present in burgers cooked rare, according to the Department of Agriculture. High levels of bird flu virus have been detected in raw milk. Some pasteurized samples tested positive, but further testing showed no viable virus, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Most Accurate Pollster From 2020 Drops Final Numbers
by JD Rucker
Atlas Intel, which was hands down the most accurate public poll during the 2020 election, just dropped its final poll of the season. It points to landslide victory for Donald Trump. If Kamala Harris is able to win Minnesota and Virginia, two blue states that are in jeopardy of being…
A Kamala Harris Victory Means Green New Deal Lawfare
by Daily Signal
Expect Kamala Harris’ Justice Department to wage Green New Deal lawfare if she is elected president on Nov. 5. As with every last issue pertaining to this election, Harris has not said much about the substance of her climate policy. But a review of her record suggests she’d be amenable…
The Moral and Spiritual Issues That Demand Our Votes
by Harbingers Daily
As a pastor and a preacher, I want to urge all Christians this election season: Get out and vote. I believe it is our duty as citizens of our state and country, but I also believe it’s especially important given the issues represented in this election. Many of these are…
No Matter the Final Vote, This Election’s Biggest Loser May Be the Legacy News Media
by Just The News
In the sultry days of summer 2020 as Donald Trump contemplated a second term, his aides engaged in a quiet conversation with members of the emerging digital media about an audacious idea. The goal was to bypass the traditional news media who monopolized the White House Correspondents Association press room…
Democrats Unveil Dark, Diabolical Plans to Prevent Trump From Retaking White House – Even if He Wins!
by WND
With results from the 2024 presidential election now imminent, Democrats have been vocal in their plans to subvert the will of the American people and prevent former President Donald Trump from retaking the White House if he pulls out a win over his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris. In…
Trump Doesn’t Rule Out Banning Certain Vaccines if He Wins Election
by The Epoch Times
Former President Donald Trump in a new interview did not rule out banning some vaccines if he wins the upcoming election. “Well, I’m going to talk to him and talk to other people, and I’ll make a decision,” Trump told NBC over the weekend when asked if banning vaccines would…
Trump, Republicans Pin Hopes on Record Early Voting in North Carolina
by Jeff Louderback, The Epoch Times
(The Epoch Times)—In his final North Carolina rally of the 2024 campaign, former President Donald Trump predicted he would win the state where he prevailed in 2016 and 2020. “North Carolina’s reliable for me,” Trump said at Dorton Arena in Raleigh, the first of four stops on Election Day Eve….
If Godly People Don’t Vote, Godless People Will: The Christian Case for Voting
by The Blaze
Do Christians have a spiritual responsibility to vote? Allie Beth Stuckey of “Relatable” and the senior pastor of Lakepointe Church, Josh Howerton, believe the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.” “I’ll gently venture out on a limb,” Howerton tells Stuckey. “I think Christians have a spiritual responsibility to…
Here’s Proof the FBI Protected Biden in 2020, and Why Congress is More Important Than the White House
by PJ Media
You won’t find it reported on the A-section pages of the New York Times or the Washington Post even though it is quite likely the most significant report produced by any investigative committee in Congress since the Church Committee in 1976. For those who need a refresher, the investigative committee…
The Media Made Sure This Election Was Never Going to Be Free or Fair
by The Federalist
The corrupt news media lied to voters on behalf of Democrats over and over ensuring an unfair election. How can we ever return to normal? It’s truly awe-inspiring to watch the news media berate Republicans, down to the very end, over the “free and fair” election we’re most certainly not…
“It’s Not Going to Be Close”: Mark Halperin Says One Key Voter Group Will Decide the Election
by Harold Hutchison, Daily Caller News Foundation
(DCNF)—Journalist Mark Halperin said on Monday that the turnout of women would decide the presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump leads Harris by 0.1% in a head-to-head matchup, according to the RealClearPolling average of polls from Oct. 11 to Nov. 3, with Trump’s…
It Was the Night Before the Election, and Everyone Was Freaking Out
by Michael Snyder
(End of the American Dream)—I have never seen so much doubt, worry, anxiety, fear and panic as we approach a presidential election. All over the country, people are freaking out right now. Democrats are freaking out because the early voting numbers are so dramatically different from 2020. Republicans are freaking…
Do Not Comply
Nope, not ever.
How do they have a vaccine for something that hasn’t happened yet? Does anyone else see this and decide they’d use deadly force to keep such a “vaccine” out of their arm?