U.S. Will Buy Regular Flu Shots for Farmworkers to Prevent Bird Flu From Getting More Dangerous

By Mike Stobbe

The U.S. will pay for flu shots for farmworkers this year, a strategy to prevent bird flu from changing into something more dangerous.

Dairy and poultry farms are dealing with outbreaks of bird flu, and 13 workers have picked up infections. All cases are mild and are believed to have spread directly from infected animals to people.

But health officials are worried about what might happen if people are infected with bird flu and seasonal flu at the same time. It’s possible the viruses could swap gene segments, in a process that scientists call reassortment. Bird flu, for example, could gain the ability to spread as easily among people as seasonal flu does.

To prevent coinfections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday said it will spend $5 million to buy seasonal flu shots and get livestock workers vaccinated this fall, working with state and local officials. Another $5 million will be spent to promote the shots.

“We want to do everything we can to reduce the risk that the virus may change,” said the CDC’s Dr. Nirav Shah.

Seasonal flu shots do not protect against bird flu. But they might reduce coinfections, he said.