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NMPF Submits Comments Supporting FMD Vaccine Production in the U.S.

October 2, 2020

NMPF submitted comments Sept. 14 supporting the petition to manufacture Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Vaccine in the United States as the next step in further protecting dairy herds from a damaging FMD outbreak. The petition calls for a vaccine manufactured from an attenuated, leaderless strain of the FMD virus, which would prevent the risk of a vaccine-induced outbreak from vaccine virus replication, shedding and transmission. NMPF states in the comments that “the safety of manufacturing an FMD vaccine in the U.S. is paramount to protect the health of the U.S. dairy industry.”

NMPF has led advocacy for FMD preparedness. NMPF’s Board of Directors in 2014 endorsed FMD preparedness priorities that included modernizing the FMD vaccine bank and developing the next generation FMD vaccines with production in the United States. As a result of 2018 Farm Bill funding, USDA announced in July an initial purchase of FMD vaccine antigen as a step in modernizing the FMD vaccine bank, making vaccine production the next step.

NMPF looks forward to continuing to work with USDA to further protect not only our own herds, but domestic and international confidence in purchasing U.S. dairy products. The full comments can be read here.