“我们被打了个措手不及，目前每年损失数百万只禽鸟，”参议员迈克·朗兹（共和党-南达科他州）说。
“We are being caught flat-footed, and we are losing millions of birds per year right now,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said.
据五名直接了解此事的人士透露，卫生部长小罗伯特·肯尼迪的反疫苗观点是将一项农业部禽流感应对计划搁置的主要因素，随着候鸟开始为过冬而迁徙，这一暂停让议员们感到警惕。
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine views were a major factor in shelving an Agriculture Department avian flu response plan, according to five people with direct knowledge of the matter, a pause that’s alarming lawmakers as wild birds begin migrating for the winter.
农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯在2025年2月推出了一个耗资10亿美元的五点计划，以应对创纪录的禽流感蔓延。该疾病自2022年以来一直扰乱着家禽业，已导致约2亿只禽鸟死亡，并促成了去年创纪录的高鸡蛋价格。
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins rolled out a $1 billion five-point plan in February 2025 to tackle a record-breaking spread of avian influenza. The disease has roiled the poultry industry since 2022, killing about 200 million birds and contributing to record-high egg prices last year.
据上述五名因讨论内部动态而获准匿名的人士透露，罗林斯随后撤回了一项美国农业部关于为家禽和蛋鸡接种疫苗的内部战略，该战略最初旨在与外国和行业领袖广泛分享。目前尚不清楚肯尼迪是否敦促罗林斯叫停该计划，但她担心这是否会与这位卫生部的反疫苗观点发生冲突。
Rollins later pulled back on an internal USDA strategy for vaccinating poultry and egg-laying hens initially intended to be shared widely with foreign countries and industry leaders. It’s not clear whether Kennedy urged Rollins to halt the plan, but she was concerned about whether it would clash with the Health secretary’s anti-vaccine views, according to the five people, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics.
罗林斯还面临着支持接种疫苗的鸡蛋生产商与担心给鸡注射疫苗可能会损害其出口能力的肉类生产商之间的行业紧张关系。随着鸡蛋价格从创纪录水平下跌，她所面临的行动压力也变小了。
Rollins was also dealing with industry tension between egg producers who favor vaccination and meat producers concerned that inoculating chickens could hurt their ability to export. She also faced less pressure to act as egg prices fell from record levels.