Both vaccines require FDA approval before distribution
CDC is monitoring over 100 individuals who have been in contact with farm animals for signs of infection
H5N1 bird flu has infected at least 46 dairy cow herds in nine states
Individuals would likely need to take two doses for adequate protection if vaccines are needed
Lactating dairy cows must test negative for bird flu before they can be moved across state lines
Two US vaccines are prepared for distribution if the bird flu jumps to humans
USDA testing meat samples and running PCR tests to ensure public health is protected and stop spread of animal disease
Two US vaccines are prepared to be shipped within weeks if the H5N1 bird flu, which has infected at least 46 dairy cow herds in nine states, jumps to humans. The vaccines have shown good cross-protection against cattle outbreak viruses in studies. According to Dawn O'Connell from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there are hundreds of thousands of prefilled vaccine syringes ready for distribution if needed. However, both vaccines require approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be distributed.
The CDC is currently monitoring over 100 individuals who have been in close contact with farm animals for signs of possible infection. If the vaccines are needed, individuals would likely need to take two doses for adequate protection. The number of doses that would be shipped will depend on the severity of a potential outbreak.
The USDA is testing various cook times with a virus surrogate to determine if cooking kills the bird flu in meat. The agency has already started testing beef samples and running PCR tests to determine if any viral particles are present. Sarah Little, a spokesperson for the Meat Institute, stated that USDA's additional testing is appropriate to ensure public health is protected and stop the spread of animal disease.
The effects of USDA's enforcement are already being felt; lactating dairy cows must test negative for bird flu before they can be moved across state lines. Dairy cows and herds intended for slaughter are typically kept separate, with all animals inspected before they're slaughtered and all cattle carcasses passing their inspections before being processed into food.
Michael Osterholm from the University of Minnesota is skeptical about the effectiveness and readiness of the two candidate vaccines in the stockpile. Rick Bright, a former government vaccine scientist, points out gaps in preparedness response such as prioritization strategy and distribution plan for vaccines.
The US government has building blocks for a possible bird flu vaccine in an emergency stockpile.
The US population is 330 million, and everyone would need two doses, making the current stockpile insufficient.
Michael Osterholm from the University of Minnesota is skeptical about the effectiveness and readiness of the two candidate vaccines in the stockpile.
Rick Bright, a former government vaccine scientist, points out gaps in preparedness response such as prioritization strategy and distribution plan for vaccines.
Accuracy
]The US government has building blocks for a possible bird flu vaccine in an emergency stockpile.[
The government has the raw material to make 10 million additional doses within weeks, plus another 125 million doses within about four months.
Studies suggest that the vaccines will offer good cross-protection against cattle outbreak viruses.
Deception
(50%)
The article contains selective reporting as it only reports details that support the author's position about the government's readiness to produce a bird flu vaccine. The article quotes outside experts who express skepticism about the government's plan but does not provide equal weight to their opinions or challenge the author's assertions. The article also uses emotional manipulation by implying that a bird flu pandemic is an imminent threat, which may cause fear and anxiety in readers.
But some experts are skeptical.
The health officials say the country is ready to produce a vaccine against a worrisome flu virus that recently jumped from birds to cows and at least one person.
Dawn O’Connell: We’ve got some preparedness pieces in place that we’re pleased will give us a head start, should we need to have a large-scale vaccine campaign in a pandemic situation.
Fallacies
(95%)
The author presents facts and quotes experts with opposing viewpoints without committing any logical fallacies. However, there are a few instances of inflammatory rhetoric used by the experts quoted in the article.
][MICHAEL OSTERHOLM]: The first thing we have to do is eliminate the sense of what I call happy talk. Estimates of stockpiles that currently exist, and the potential to use them should this virus emerge into a human pathogen where it’s transmitted by humans to humans, I think have been unfortunately overstated.[/
The government has the raw material to make 10 million additional doses within weeks, plus another 125 million doses within about four months.
Accuracy
]The federal government has taken steps toward developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu should it become a threat to humans.[
The government has stocks of adjuvant, a substance that is used to increase a vaccine’s effectiveness.
Deception
(70%)
The article contains editorializing and selective reporting. The author quotes experts expressing skepticism about the government's preparedness for a potential bird flu pandemic, but does not provide any counter-arguments or context from the government's perspective. This creates an imbalanced view of the situation. Additionally, the author focuses on the criticisms of outside experts without mentioning any potential mitigating factors or progress being made by the government.
But outside infectious disease specialists are skeptical about the nation’s preparedness for this potential threat.
We need to be more humble.
, I don’t have a lot of faith that those vaccines will offer a great deal of protection.
Fallacies
(85%)
The author makes an appeal to authority when quoting Dawn O'Connell and Michael Osterholm. However, the author also provides critical analysis from Osterholm that challenges the claims made by O'Connell. This creates a nuanced perspective that is not solely reliant on one source of information.
][Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell] We've got some preparedness pieces in place that will give us a head start should we need a large-scale vaccination campaign in a pandemic situation.[/]
[Michael Osterholm] I think estimates of stockpiles that currently exist and the potential to use them should this emerge into a human pathogen where it's transmitted by humans to humans, have unfortunately been overstated.[
The U.S. has two vaccines ready should the strain of bird flu circulating in dairy cows begin spreading easily to people, federal health officials said.
Studies suggest that the vaccines will offer good cross-protection against cattle outbreak viruses.
Accuracy
]The U.S. has two vaccines ready[
hundreds of thousands of prefilled syringes and vials ready to ship if needed
Studies suggest that the vaccines will offer good cross-protection against cattle outbreak viruses
Two vaccines are ready to ship within weeks if the bird flu jumps to humans.
At least 46 dairy cow herds in nine states have been infected with bird flu.
Studies suggest that the vaccines will offer good cross-protection against cattle outbreak viruses.
There are hundreds of thousands of prefilled vaccine syringes ready to ship in the event of a transmission event.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
No formal fallacies found. However, there are some informal fallacies and inflammatory rhetoric present in the article.
. . . there's no evidence that H5N1 has been spreading between people, though one dairy worker in Texas did become infected after working closely with cattle.
Health officials said during a briefing Wednesday that they were prepared for the possibility of human-to-human transmission of the bird flu.
Officials insisted during the briefing that there are no current signs pointing to the virus mutating in a way that would allow it to jump between humans.
H5N1 bird flu was circulating in dairy cows for at least four months before it was detected
Infected cattle with no apparent connections suggested undiscovered affected herds
One farmworker who came into contact with infected cows tested positive for H5N1 and recovered
Accuracy
At least three dozen infected herds reported across nine states as of March 2023
FDA confirmed that the virus in pasteurized dairy products was not active and couldn’t make anyone sick but advised against consumption of raw milk
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as it only reports details that support the author's position about the USDA's handling of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak. The article quotes Dr. Michael Worobey stating 'We could have done a much better job catching H5N1 in dairy cows.' and 'We have to get out of the mindset of waiting for that tip of the iceberg of sick animals or sick humans to be noticed.' These statements imply that there was a failure on the part of the USDA to properly address the outbreak in a timely manner. However, no counter-arguments or opposing viewpoints are presented in the article. Additionally, there is sensationalism with phrases such as 'growing pile of evidence' and 'evolving into something more dangerous.'
The research also found infected cattle that had no apparent connections, suggesting that ‘there are affected herds that have not yet been identified.’
The new study gives the USDA’s account of how bird flu seemed to spread so quickly to herds across the US.
Despite the lack of critical background information on those samples, that group came to nearly the same conclusion as the USDA: that the virus had crossed over from wild birds to cows between mid-November and mid-January.
Fallacies
(90%)
The author makes an appeal to authority by quoting Dr. Michael Worobey and his opinions on how the H5N1 virus could have been detected earlier. However, this does not constitute a fallacy as long as it is clear that the author is reporting on Dr. Worobey's opinions and not presenting them as facts.
]We could have done a much better job[...]Instead, he said, animals need to be routinely tested with ‘modern techniques’ for identifying emerging pathogens.[
If that had been done, that would have revealed H5N1 in January and then even beyond that.
Bias
(95%)
The author expresses a critical view of the USDA's handling of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cows, implying that they could have done a better job detecting it earlier. She quotes Dr. Michael Worobey who suggests that modern techniques for identifying emerging pathogens should be used instead of waiting for sick animals or humans to be noticed.
Instead, he said, animals need to be routinely tested with modern techniques for identifying emerging pathogens.
We could have done a much better job catching H5N1 in dairy cows.
