| Californians considering a test for bird flu or to get a flu vaccine now have a monetary incentive: a $25 Visa e-gift card. It’s a program the state is rolling out in an effort to increase testing for bird flu, or H5N1, and increase seasonal flu shots. The gift card is only available at clinics that offer both testing and seasonal flu vaccine services. The money for the gift cards comes from the state’s emergency funds, a California Department of Public Health spokesperson said in an email. The department did not immediately respond to a request for details about the program’s cost. Symptoms of bird flu include flu-like symptoms and conjunctivitis, or pink eye. People should consider getting tested if they’re experiencing these symptoms or work around cattle or birds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the infection be treated with the antiviral Tamiflu. The risk for humans from bird flu remains low, the CDC says. However, antibodies have been found in veterinarians and farm workers, illustrating the virus was likely more widespread in humans than previously known. Since the virus jumped from wild birds to cattle in April 2024, 70 people in the US have tested positive, more than half of them in California. One person in Louisiana was reported in January to have died from the virus. California has been the hardest-hit state with 765 infected herds since the virus jumped to them, according to the US Department of Agriculture. In February, USDA announced a $1 billion plan to ramp up surveillance and animal vaccine efforts to curb the spread of avian influenza — and lower the sky-high cost of eggs. California’s gift card program comes as the federal government cuts resources to respond to the outbreak. The Food and Drug Administration and CDC have lost top scientists and veterinarians studying the disease as part of the reduction in workforce at the Department of Health and Human Services. In February, the Trump administration also floated cancelling a $590 billion contract with Moderna to supply a human bird flu vaccine. “It’s a positive sign for the states to step up, because the federal government will not,” said Michael Kinch, chief innovation officer at Stony Brook University and an infectious disease researcher. — Jessica Nix | 
