CDC plans seasonal flu vaccine campaign among farm workers at risk of H5N1

Farm workers considered to be at highest risk of infection with avian flu would receive seasonal influenza vaccinations for fall flu season under a new program announced July 30 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Protecting farm workers from seasonal flu would reduce double infections that could potentially help the H5N1 avian flu virus exchange genetic material with other flu viruses and become more transferable among people, Nirav Shah, MD, CDC’s  Principal Deputy Director, told media outlets.

The $5 million program would target the estimated 200,000 U.S. livestock workers, who are considered to be at high risk for contracting bird flu.

“Preventing seasonal influenza for these workers, many of whom are also exposed to bird flu, may reduce risks of new strains of influenza emerging,” said Shah.

Should humans be worried?

If the avian flu virus mutates sufficiently for human-to-human spread, it could threaten a pandemic. However, the CDC has said that the likelihood remains low.

Still, preparation for potential human contagion is underway. The Health and Human Services Department ordered the manufacture of 4.8 million vaccines for humans from CSL Seqirus, while the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is funding Moderna to develop a new mRNA vaccine for humans.

To ensure the government and industry are prepared to work together in a robust response to any potential pandemic, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) has called for the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which was born from Project BioShield to bolster our defenses against the next generation of global health threats.

“Bird flu is probably a great example where the government is going to have to assess whether they were asleep at the helm,” former Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), a key architect of Project BioShield, said in an interview with Bio.News.

Farm workers face the biggest threat

The more immediate threat to humans appears to be from contact with infected poultry and dairy cattle. Since 2022, bird flu has been detected in 1,164 poultry flocks in 48 states. As of March this year, it has hit 172 dairy herds in 13 states. Thirteen U.S. farmworkers have been infected, all with mild symptoms, The Washington Post notes.

This data is driving the CDC’s campaign to make double infections less likely by protecting farm workers from the seasonal flu. CDC recommends that, with a few exceptions, everyone over six months old get the seasonal flu vaccine. The new program was designed to increase the rate of seasonal flu vaccine among farm workers.

CDC said it would supply the seasonal influenza vaccines and would seek help from state and local officials in ensuring that farm workers are contacted and offered the vaccine. CDC also announced a further $5 million to community organizations like the National Center for Farmworker Health to help educate farm workers about safe behavior, according to reports.

Efforts to control avian flu among livestock have included a focus on the development of new vaccines for cattle, according to Bio.News.

Meanwhile, there have been concerns of people coming in contact with infected livestock during summer’s county and state fair season. “What we do at fairs kind of violates every tenet of biosecurity that we preach, and we do it on public display, and we charge the public,” Ohio State University veterinarian Andrew Bowman, Ph.D., told CIDRAP News.