WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today praised an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of an initial $27.1 million purchase for a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB).
“When we wrote the 2018 Farm Bill, we listened to stakeholders from start to finish. Our livestock producers put a priority on this important investment to bolster our animal disease infrastructure, and I’m pleased to see this vaccine bank coming to fruition,” said Roberts. “The risk the world faces from disease transmission is more acute today than ever. Safeguarding American agriculture from the impacts of devastating zoonotic and animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, is an investment well made. The establishment of this vaccine bank will allow the U.S. to more quickly ensure continuity of business should this devastating disease ever impact U.S. livestock producers.”
The 2018 Farm Bill established both the NAVVCB and the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP), which will improve how the U.S. protects against, prepares for, and responds to animal and zoonotic disease outbreaks, including foot-and-mouth disease.
Click here to read more about Farm Bill programs within APHIS.
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