When the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus made its first appearance at a U.S. poultry farm in February 2022, roughly 29,000 turkeys at an Indiana facility were sacrificed in an attempt to avert a larger outbreak.

It didn’t work. Three years later, highly pathogenic avian influenza has spread to all 50 states. The number of commercial birds that have died or been killed exceeds 166 million and the price of eggs is at an all-time high.

Bird flu vaccines may offer some protection. Both China and France use them, and the USDA granted a conditional license this month for an H5N2 vaccine designed for chickens, according to Zoetis, the company that developed it.

While some are heralding vaccines as a potential tool to inoculate the nation’s poultry farms, others say the costs could be too much.

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