By Ricardo Lezama 
Both Georgia and New Orleans have had recorded outbreaks of the H5N1 bird flu, causing a severe impact on the agricultural industry, including a surge in egg prices. This strain of Avian Influenza has been causing havoc in the country’s bird population, commercial poultry, and some mammal species for over two years.
In December, the first severe case of the H5N1 flu has been confirmed in Louisiana by the CDC. California followed with an emergency order around poultry risk and a need to mass euthanize emerged.
Now, Americans are worried about how Trump is suspending the reporting and vaccines for bird flu. At this point, the weekly statistics for H5N1 are shrouded in uncertainty due to the halt in communications by the CDC. Whether or not the nation will get to see these statistics remains to be seen.
Furthermore, the Trump administration’s approach to blocking documentation and communication continues to expand as reports campaign for the halt of scientific conferences and funding reviews have surfaced. The ghastly consequences are almost a play by play reminiscent of the plot for the popular movie ‘V for Vendetta’. Until checked and approved by Trump-appointed individuals, all documents and communications are not to be published by February 1.
The response has shown little regard for the health and welfare of Americans, especially those dependent on the Affordable Care Act and Medicare. The administration’s decisions and mismanagement have drawn criticism from the public, with some pointing out the likely event of a pandemic that could be prevented by proper actions.
This encompasses various kinds of reports, including disease death weekly reports from the CDC, H5N1 bird flu updates, and health alert network recommendations. Besides, there are confirmed incidents including the cancellation of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) during scientific conferences. A memo from Science revealed that the NIH’s staff travel has been indefinitely suspended. The administration has taken steps to stop all healthcare funding even though there’s a probability of the H5N1 mutating at any moment- a virus that has 50% survival rate.
Amidst these developments, the bird flu situation has worsened. In Long Island too, as recently as this year, a farm had to practice mass euthanization due to a bird flu outbreak just as many other regional chicken farms have had to do in order to control the outbreak.