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Concerns around bird flu have intensified in recent months, and just yesterday the U.S. recorded its first bird flu death in Louisiana. Soon, the Trump administration will have to steer the federal response to the outbreak. NPR's Will Stone reports on the challenges it will face.
WILL STONE, BYLINE: At this point, there's no way to predict if this strain of bird flu will spark a full-blown pandemic. As the virus infects more mammals, more humans, it has more opportunities to mutate in ways that could spell trouble.
JESSE GOODMAN: This is like brush burning around your house that you better pay attention to 'cause it could turn into something else.
STONE: That's Dr. Jesse Goodman. He helped lead the Food and Drug Administration's response to swine flu in 2009. He's now at Georgetown.
GOODMAN: And I would say this is one of the things we don't do as a society very well. We tend to deal with either four-alarm fire or complete denial.
STONE: The Biden administration recently ramped up its work on bird flu, putting more than $300 million into pandemic preparation, expanding testing in the dairy industry. But this comes after months of criticism. Goodman says the response has been sluggish in some ways. Dr. Andrew Pavia at the University of Utah agrees. He's been involved in influenza pandemic preparedness for more than two decades.
ANDREW PAVIA: The response has been slow and has lacked a sense of urgency that I think it should have.
STONE: There are gaps in testing and surveillance. The outbreak in dairy cattle is not contained.
PAVIA: In my mind, the biggest elephant in the room is our ability to produce vaccine. We are, I think, fooling ourselves that we have enough vaccine capacity and the ability to respond quickly.
STONE: The federal government is increasing its stockpile, and newer vaccines, including some using mRNA technology deployed against COVID, are being developed. But Pavia worries about what could happen in the new administration.
PAVIA: We're all very concerned about the decrease in trust in vaccines. Having RFK Jr. on the political stage only makes that worse.
STONE: The Trump transition team did not respond to NPR's requests for comment on its plans to tackle bird flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the administration's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has a long track record of making inaccurate and misleading claims about the safety of vaccines, as does the advocacy group he founded. He's already made statements in an online post undermining the bird flu vaccines.
JENNIFER NUZZO: If this thing becomes a pandemic, people are going to demand vaccines.
STONE: Jennifer Nuzzo is an epidemiologist at Brown University.
NUZZO: What I am worried about is whether any ideologic oppositions or perhaps lack of understanding of science gets in the way of a swift response that prevents as many deaths as possible.
STONE: But Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, says he's not going to speculate. He points out a lot of public health happens on the local level, and Trump does already have a vaccine track record.
CARLOS DEL RIO: The Trump administration developed a COVID vaccine, right? So they have experience with Operation Warp Speed that was pretty unique.
STONE: Dr. Luciana Borio, now at the Council on Foreign Relations, was acting chief scientist at the FDA from 2015 to 2017. She says the incoming administration should double down on treatments and vaccines right away.
LUCIANA BORIO: And I think that historically, at least, you know, pandemic preparedness has been a bipartisan effort, and no president and no Congress wants to see people dying of an influenza pandemic needlessly.
STONE: Jesse Goodman, who was also once at the FDA, says the Trump administration needs to support the federal workforce responsible for pandemic preparation.
GOODMAN: You want to keep the best people, not scare them away.
STONE: Because, he says, they will be critical for making sure the country is safe. Will Stone, NPR News.
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