Military vet senator reveals frightening way Trump is raising risk of bird flu pandemic
A senator has warned that President Donald Trump’s blackout of ‘critical’ health information could cause a ‘deadly pandemic.’
Last month, President Trump put a 90-day pause on some communications from authorities like the CDC, FDA, and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The CDC was also told to stop working with the World Health Organization ‘immediately.’
Now Senator Gary Peters, a democrat from Michigan, is pressing the Trump administration to address the worsening outbreak of H5N1, also known as bird flu.
A letter to the White House claims the administration has taken little action against bird flu, which has infected nearly 20million chickens, 1,000 dairy cow herds, and 67 Americans in 16 states.
Now, a deadlier variant, D1.1, is spreading in Nevada. It’s the same variant that killed one person in Louisiana and placed a teenager in Canada in critical condition.
This has led to growing fears that bird flu may eventually be able to spread between humans, signaling the start of a pandemic.
Senator Peters called on the White House’s Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR) to ‘take immediate and necessary measures to ensure transparent, unified, and regular communications with the public about the H5N1 outbreak.’
Gary Peters (pictured here), a senator from Michigan, called on the White House to address the worsening outbreak of H5N1, also known as bird flu
President Trump last month put a 90-day pause on some communications from authorities like the CDC, FDA, and National Institutes of Health (NIH)
He also insisted health communications should be resumed and officials should publish additional data on infections, guidance on testing, contact tracing, and information on symptoms.
The letter comes after the CDC published and swiftly deleted health data suggesting bird flu may have spread from pet cats to their owners, which has never been seen.
The letter states: ‘There does not appear to be a robust and coordinated effort led by the White House to swiftly and effectively prevent, detect, and respond to the worsening H5N1 outbreak.
‘We are at a critical juncture and must work to mitigate H5N1 transmission among affected animals to ensure the virus does not eventually adapt to spread easily between humans, resulting in human-to-human transmission like the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic.’
As of February 5, 67 Americans have been infected with H5N1 in 10 states, with the majority in California, according to the latest CDC data.
And 957 dairy herds in 16 states have been infected, with most in California and Colorado.
One American has died, a 65-year-old from Louisiana.
The US has a stockpile of about 20million bird flu vaccines in its national stockpile, officials say, which are ‘well matched’ to the H5N1 virus.
It also has the capacity to quickly make 100million more if necessary. However, the Biden administration said at the end of last year that it has no plans to authorize a vaccine.
It’s unclear if the Trump administration will authorize a vaccine.
H5N1, also known as bird flu, has sickened 67 Americans in the last year and killed one
Senator Peters, who is a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, requested he receive several pieces of information by Wednesday, February 19.
He called for a list of government positions that are working on addressing the bird flu outbreak, including workers in the biodefense, global health security, pandemic response, and public health sectors.
The letter states: ‘If a statutorily mandated position is currently vacant, please indicate that and provide an anticipated date when the position will be filled.’
He also requested the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services, newly headed by Robert F Kennedy Jr, send reports on the outbreak’s status and preparedness exercises from November 2024 through the present to the White House and OPPR.
Senator Peters also asked for any communications sent to the CDC ‘asking the agency to pause any research, communications, and/or reporting related to H5N1.’
Peters wrote: ‘The Covid-19 pandemic taught us the importance of early and prompt action, clear roles and responsibilities, regular and unified communication, and most importantly, the severe consequences of a delayed response.’
