STAT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that it is funding a $5 million program to vaccinate livestock industry workers against seasonal flu in a bid to reduce the pandemic risk posed by the ongoing H5N1 bird flu outbreak in cattle.
The voluntary program, which will be administered by state and local public health workers, is aimed at getting seasonal flu shots into as many people as possible who are working in proximity to animals — poultry, cows, or other livestock — that could be infected with H5N1. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director, said there are an estimated 200,000 people officially working in this sector nationwide, though he acknowledged that number doesn’t encompass all people working with these animals.