H5N1 vaccines have been previously licensed, and millions are in the national stockpile. But even with the news of the country’s first human death due to bird flu, vaccination isn’t yet recommended. As avian influenza rages through birds and dairy cattle across the United States, Georgia has become the latest state to detect the virus in a commercial poultry flock, and on Friday, it halted all poultry sales to mitigate further spread of the disease. Nationally, egg prices are soaring—if you can find them at all in your local grocery store.
The ongoing outbreak in animals has also led to at least 67 human cases of bird flu, with all but one causing mild illness. Earlier this month, a person in Louisiana died after being hospitalized with severe bird flu in December. It’s the country’s first recorded death attributed to H5N1.