On Jan. 6, 2025, Louisiana state health officials reported the first U.S. bird flu death. The person was older than 65, had underlying health problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock prior to being hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.
There have been 66 confirmed bird flu infections reported in the U.S. since the start of 2024, although most cases have been mild.
It took over a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic before vaccines were developed and widely available to the public. So some people are asking questions about potential bird flu vaccines, and how quickly the public might be able to access them.
THE QUESTION
Is there a bird flu vaccine?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, there is a bird flu vaccine for humans. However, it’s not currently available.
WHAT WE FOUND
Scientists have developed a vaccine that fights against bird flu. The first version was officially approved in the U.S. in 2007. But like the normal seasonal flu, bird flu changes over time, so the vaccine would need to be updated with the current strain before it would be effective. Health officials haven’t deemed that necessary at this time.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously approved bird flu vaccines in 2007, 2013 and 2020. These versions were approved for use in people with increased risk of exposure to the virus, but were based on now-outdated strains, according to an article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in October 2024.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed the components necessary to quickly produce vaccines that could fight the current strain of bird flu.
Flu viruses, like bird flu, are always mutating, the CDC says. Usually, these mutations are small, but over time the changes can be significant enough that the immune system can no longer recognize, and therefore fight off, the virus. That’s why health experts recommend people get an annual flu shot, which is updated each year to match the strains of seasonal flu expected to be most prevalent.
The current strains of bird flu don’t spread from person-to-person. Scientists say the virus would likely have to undergo a significant mutation to be able to do that. The mutated virus could be similar to the current strain, or could be entirely different from it.
So health officials are waiting until that mutation happens, if at all, before approving and producing millions of vaccines.
In the meantime, the CDC is constantly researching new strains of bird flu and developing components for vaccines that could fight any one of those strains in case vaccines are needed.
The U.S. government has enough vaccine materials to make millions of doses within weeks, according to the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The CDC says the seasonal flu vaccine will not protect against the bird flu. Still, the CDC recommends receiving the seasonal flu vaccine, especially for people who may be exposed to infected birds in two weeks.
The seasonal flu vaccine might reduce the risk a person is infected by both the seasonal flu and bird flu at once. Coinfection of both viruses increases the risk of a major bird flu mutation and of more severe illness.