The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday a $5 million initiative to offer seasonal flu vaccines to livestock workers in order to reduce the public health concern that a new version of the influenza virus could emerge among farm workers who are at a higher risk of catching the bird flu (H5N1) virus, which has been circulating in millions of farmed and wild animals.
The goal of the initiative is to protect the health and safety of livestock workers as seasonal respiratory viruses begin to circulate, Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, said Tuesday.
“Preventing seasonal influenza in these workers, many of whom are also potentially exposed to H5N1 viruses, may also reduce the risk of new versions of the influenza A virus emerging,” he said.
