RFK Jr.’s anti-vax agenda might kill millions of birds this winter

USDA workers disinfected a work crew at a Jennie-O turkey farm in Eden Valley, Minnesota, during the 2015 bird flu outbreak. | Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images If egg prices surge this winter, one of the main drivers will likely be H5N1, or bird flu.

Since 2022, it’s decimated the US poultry industry, resulting in the deaths of over 160 million egg-laying hens .

And when there are fewer hens, there are fewer eggs, which leads to shortages and price hikes .

This happened in early 2023 when avian flu was circulating: Egg prices increased by 65 percent compared to a few months prior, and in 2025, it happened again, reaching a national average of more than $6 per dozen. (There’s also some evidence, per a Justice Department investigation, that suggests major egg companies may have colluded to raise prices , too.) We have the tools to slow the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) without such high mortality, though; the United States has several effective bird flu vaccines , and egg (and turkey) producers want to use them on their birds.

Last year, it seemed like they soon might be able to.

In early 2025, the Trump administration announced that it would begin formulating a plan for potential vaccination by engaging with trade partners, state veterinarians, farmers, and other stakeholders.

But according to reporting in Politico last week, that plan is now stalled.

Why? Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr. and his anti-vaccine agenda appear partly to blame.

US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “pulled back on an internal USDA strategy for vaccinating poultry and egg-laying hens,” according to Politico, because she was “concerned about whether it would clash with [RFK Jr.’s] anti-vaccine views.” The pause, according to the story, “went against the counsel of expert agency staff.” The USDA didn’t respond to detailed questions for this story.

“USDA has been fully committed to providing the most robust response to battling HPAI,” a spokesperson wrote over email.

Kennedy oversees the Food and Drug Administration, which has some jurisdiction over what happens on farms, though the USDA manages disease outbreaks.

But he and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement apparently have enough political influence to sway how the agriculture department manages this multiyear outbreak — the largest in US history.

It is risky for the birds, and consumers, and could mean that we’re going to continue to fight this devastating disease without perhaps the most effective tool to slow it down.