WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a conditional license for an avian flu vaccine for use in chickens.
The news comes amid an outbreak that’s decimated poultry flocks, contributing to the steep price of eggs at grocery stores.
Zoetis, the manufacturer behind the vaccine, announced the conditional approval Friday. The company says its scientists are updating an existing vaccine from 2022.
According to a news release from Zoetis, the conditional license was granted based on “the demonstration of safety, purity, and reasonable expectation of efficacy.”
A conditional license can generally be used to address an emergency or special circumstance.
According to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), more than 150 million birds in the U.S. have been affected by bird flu since February 2022.
Two cases of bird flu have been confirmed in Washington for 2025. The first was reported in Jan. in a commercial flock of chickens in Franklin County. The second case was reported in a small flock of backyard ducks in Mason County.
The first ever case of bird flu in Washington was in 2022. Since then, there have been 52 domestic cases and three cases in commercial flocks.
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