USDA Preparing to Mass Vaccinate Poultry Against Bird Flu — Ignoring Scientific and Public Warnings

By Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Despite assurances from RFK Jr. just months ago that his administration rejects dangerous bird flu vaccine campaigns over mutation concerns…

“All three of my health agencies—NIH, CDC, and FDA—the acting heads of those agencies—have all recommended against the use of the bird flu vaccine.”

… the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now actively developing a mass vaccination plan for poultry against H5N1 avian influenza.

Reuters broke the story on June 20, 2025 — confirming the USDA is crafting a written plan to vaccinate poultry while attempting to allay trade partner fears about vaccinated meat exports. This plan expected to be completed in July.

Egg and turkey producers, devastated by reckless mass culling, are pushing for vaccine approval. Chicken meat producers oppose it, warning that countries may halt U.S. poultry imports altogether.

This is a Public Health Disaster in the Making

• The proposed vaccines (whether mRNA or antigen-based) are non-sterilizing, meaning they don’t stop infection or transmission.

• This opens the door to antigenic shift — where the virus evolves rapidly under immune pressure, becoming more virulent and possibly jumping to humans.

• A recent study by Li et al found that mass vaccination of poultry against H5N1 with a non-sterilizing vaccine during a widespread animal pandemic can accelerate viral evolution, leading to more virulent strains and increasing the risk of a human pandemic:

• Read et al found that imperfect vaccination can enhance the transmission of highly virulent pathogens, showing that leaky vaccines in poultry enabled the survival and spread of hyper-pathogenic Marek’s disease virus strains.

Toxicity & Transparency Concerns

• Cooked or not, vaccine residues may survive and contaminate the food supply.

• No labeling requirements exist to tell consumers whether the poultry has been vaccinated.

• Americans will unknowingly be eating vaccinated meat — with zero safety testing or long-term data.

With so many known risks and unknown consequences, the plan to mass vaccinate our food supply should not even be on the table.

I discuss all of this and more on Brannon Howse Live.

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation

www.mcculloughfnd.org

Please consider following both the McCullough Foundation and my personal account on X (formerly Twitter) for further content.

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