Bird Flu Is Raging on a Mink Farm. It Could Spark a Human Pandemic, Experts Say, but Officials Won’t Act.
www.propublica.org
Federal officials brushed off the issue as Utah prioritized the fur industry’s interests. Little has been done to stop the spread of the virus and ensure it can’t spread to humans, a failure that experts called “irresponsible” and “astounding.”

Reporting Highlights

  • Deadly Outbreak: A bird flu outbreak has been raging uncontrolled on a Utah mink farm for two months. Flu experts fear it could spark a devastating human pandemic.
  • Government Failures: State officials didn’t order the mink to be killed, which other countries with outbreaks have done. They are prioritizing the financial interests of the fur trade.
  • Silent Risks: Despite CDC guidance urging officials to monitor workers, they actively chose not to and declined to test workers — including one with a symptom experts said would warrant testing.
  • nocturne@piefed.socialEnglish
    1·
    6 hours ago

    Are There Existing H5N1 Vaccines? The U.S. licensed 3 H5N1-focused vaccines in 2007, 2013 and 2020; additional vaccines have been authorized by the European Medical Association (EMA) for protection against various H5 influenza viruses. The target population for these vaccines—and H5N1 vaccines overall—is not the general public, but rather those with the highest risk of exposure to the virus (e.g., people who work with poultry or cattle). Finland is currently the only country offering a vaccine to high risk individuals. Other countries, including Canada and the U.S., have stockpiled vaccines that could be distributed if or when needed, or have historically offered H5N1 vaccination to those at high risk of infection (e.g., Taiwan in 2013).

    The U.S. also harbors stockpiles of influenza A vaccine “building blocks”—i.e., antigens and adjuvants, which trigger and enhance an immune response, respectively. Managed by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the National Pre-pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile (NPIVS) contains the materials (e.g., influenza A H5 antigen) to quickly advance production of H5N1 vaccines that closely match circulating viruses.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains a list of all candidate vaccines for H5N1 and other zoonotic influenza viruses, which it updates as part of its twice-yearly consultations on influenza vaccine composition (the same meetings in which the seasonal vaccine composition recommendations are debated).

    https://asm.org/articles/2025/march/avian-influenza-h5n1-vaccines-what-status