Gift Cards Handed Out As State Races To Contain Bird Flu

Get paid for getting swabbed.

California health officials are incentivizing people living near farms to get tested for bird flu by offering $25 gift cards. This initiative is a partnership between the state and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The effort is part of a broader strategy to monitor the spread of the H5N1 bird flu, with clinics near affected farms administering swab tests for the virus or offering seasonal flu shots. Additionally, the CDC is providing testing through its Avian Flu Influenza Area Surveillance Testing (AFAST) project in certain regions.

The program is a response to misleading claims circulating on social media suggesting that the U.S. government had ordered a halt to bird flu testing for farmworkers. The CDC clarified that their guidance remains unchanged, encouraging individuals with symptoms to seek testing through healthcare providers or local health departments. The California Department of Public Health echoed this statement, emphasizing that symptomatic farmworkers are still being referred for testing.

California is using funds from its state emergency declaration for bird flu to finance the gift card incentives. The CDC’s role in the initiative is limited to testing and does not involve offering financial incentives. Meanwhile, other states like Nevada and Idaho, which have also faced bird flu outbreaks, have assured that testing and treatment for exposed farmworkers continue as usual, with no reports of workers refusing to be tested.

Health officials in California have been actively monitoring flu cases throughout the state to determine if any are linked to the H5N1 strain. So far, all flu cases tested have been identified as seasonal flu types, such as H1 or H3, ruling out the presence of H5N1. The absence of confirmed human cases of H5N1 in the state has been reassuring to public health authorities, suggesting that there is no immediate threat of widespread infection among the population.

This proactive approach by California, including the testing incentives and continuous monitoring of flu cases, highlights ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of bird flu while addressing public health concerns.