The Trump administration canceled a federal contract with Moderna intended to develop a vaccine for the H5N1 avian flu, which has affected over 1,000 cattle herds and 170 million birds. Dr. Vin Gupta and other infectious disease experts criticized the funding cut, warning that the virus is evolving rapidly as it spreads from birds to mammals like mountain lions. Critics of the administration's move argue that a "big terrible pandemic" is a matter of when, not if, despite the current strain's low contagiousness in humans.
