Analysis by major health policy think tanks or CDC announcements

CDC Confirms First Severe U.S. Bird Flu Case; Experts Urge Vaccine Rollout Before Trump Inauguration

Dec 29, 2024, 04:56 PM

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first severe U.S. case of bird flu (H5N1) showing mutations, prompting health experts to warn of a potential new pandemic. Infectious disease expert Dr. Dean Blumberg cautioned, 'The virus may mutate and become more easily transmitted person to person.' Former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx expressed concerns that the U.S. is at risk of another pandemic similar to COVID-19 due to bird flu and seasonal flu, criticizing the CDC's response as repeating past mistakes and comparing the current situation to January 2020. Dr. Leana Wen, former Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department, urged the Biden administration to authorize the existing H5N1 vaccine and distribute almost 5 million doses to vulnerable Americans before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. She emphasized that 'there actually is a vaccine developed already against H5N1,' highlighting that 'we have not been doing nearly enough testing,' and noting 66 confirmed human cases of bird flu. Health experts are calling for increased testing and rapid vaccine deployment to prevent a potential outbreak.