The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has conditionally approved Zoetis to use its bird flu vaccine for poultry, the animal healthcare company announced on Friday.
Since last April, nearly 70 people in the United States have contracted bird flu, resulting in one death. Most cases have been among farm workers exposed to infected poultry or cattle. However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has assessed that the risk of infection to the general public remains low.
Zoetis, a company specializing in animal vaccines, medicines, and diagnostic solutions, said the conditional license was granted based on safety and a reasonable expectation of effectiveness. Conditional approvals are typically issued for emergencies, limited markets, or special circumstances for a specified period.
Last month, the USDA announced plans to rebuild a stockpile of bird flu vaccines for poultry that target the current strain affecting commercial flocks and wild birds. A vaccine stockpile was created after major bird flu outbreaks in 2014 and 2015, though those vaccines were never used.
The USDA’s Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory in Athens, Georgia, developed vaccines in collaboration with Merck and Ceva, according to David Suarez, who was acting laboratory director in 2023.
Meanwhile, Moderna is developing a human bird flu vaccine with approximately $766 million in funding from the U.S. government. The company announced last month that it was preparing to move its experimental vaccine, mRNA-1018, into late-stage trials following promising results from earlier trials.
