Without a new policy including vaccines, the government will continue to slaughter every flock with a bird flu infection to limit the spread of the disease. Those deaths have totaled over 166 million birds in the U.S. since 2022.

The existing vaccines don't match the current strain, and both the U.S. and E.U. have rules on imported birds that are vaccinated.

For turkey farmer Erica Sawatzke, Thanksgiving was going terribly. It was 2023, and while others were eating their turkey dinners, Sawatzke felt a pit growing in her stomach as her flocks seemed to be suffering.