January 6, 2025
Outgoing US Biden administration sets aside US$306 million for US bird flu response
US President Joe Biden's outgoing administration announced on January 3 that it will allocate US$306 million to bolster the United States' bird flu response before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The new funding will support national, state, and local preparedness and monitoring programmes, as well as research into potential medical countermeasures against the H5N1 virus.
"While the risk to humans remains low, we are always preparing for any possible scenario that could arise," Health Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "Preparedness is the key to keeping Americans healthy and our country safe."
While the virus has not been found to spread from person to person, the amount of bird flu circulating among animals and humans has alarmed scientists, as it might combine with seasonal influenza and mutate into a more transmissible form - potentially triggering a deadly pandemic.
The funding announcement comes amid concern over how the incoming Trump administration will handle the threat.
The president-elect told Time magazine recently he would abolish the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy established under Biden - though it is not clear if he has the authority to do so since it was created by the US Congress.
Biden's administration has also faced criticism for what some consider a subpar bird flu response.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, published a report citing an array of problems including "lagging data, incomplete surveillance, sluggish coordination, considerable mistrust, and insufficient planning and stockpiling of vaccines and therapies".
Infectious disease epidemiologist Meg Schaeffer of the SAS Institute told AFP: "In my opinion, avian influenza is going to become either a pandemic or a virus... that will become a very widespread and significant health issue for us in the next one to two years."
- AFP
