Rep. Jim Costa Leads Bipartisan Push for Vaccine Development to Protect California Farms

WASHINGTON - Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, led the San Joaquin Valley congressional delegation in a bipartisan letter calling on U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins for decisive actions to protect our nation’s dairy and poultry sectors from the continued spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), particularly the H5N1 strain. 

The letter urges continued development and evaluation of an H5N1 vaccine for dairy cattle, sustained state-federal coordination and funding for animal and human health preparedness, and proactive engagement with international trading partners to safeguard California’s vital dairy export markets ahead of any potential vaccine rollout.

“Dairy vaccination may be the most effective way to protect cattle and, consequently, protect poultry in many regions of the country, including California. Creating and sustaining dairy herd immunity will lessen the amount of virus generated by infected cows without the negative impacts of disease,” the members wrote.

“Poultry biosecurity is a critical tool within the Five-Pronged Strategy, however without sustained dairy herd immunity, infected cows may continue to exponentially generate high viral loads in environments often surrounding poultry flocks, rendering the best biosecurity ineffective,” the members further wrote.

BACKGROUND

The San Joaquin Valley is home to six of the top ten dairy-producing counties in the United States and is at the center of this fight. California produces over 18% of the nation’s milk and exports $2.6 billion in dairy products last year alone. California has served as ground zero for critical research and response efforts following the most severe avian influenza outbreak in United States history.

Full text of the letter is available HERE.