WASHINGTON — As avian flu rages across the country and drives up the cost of eggs, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand held a virtual press conference Thursday calling on the Trump administration to take action to develop and approve a vaccine for poultry and contain the outbreak.

Bird flu has been found in 44 of New York’s 62 counties and has forced farmers to cull more than 150 million birds around the country, including 100,000 at one farm on Long Island alone. A new strain of the disease has been found in cattle; its spread would be devastating to New York’s dairy farmers and could pose a serious threat to human health if the strain continues to evolve.

“Avian flu is decimating bird populations, and the subsequent shortage of egg-laying hens is making eggs unaffordable for working New Yorkers,” Gillibrand said. “President Trump must act now to contain this outbreak. I am urging him to do everything in his power to prioritize the development of a vaccine to inoculate chickens against avian flu and fulfill his campaign promise to bring down grocery prices. I am alarmed that the administration limited the data shared with the scientific community and am urging full transparency. This deadly disease requires a whole of government response to be enacted immediately.”

Nevertheless, the Trump administration has stopped releasing crucial data on the spread of bird flu and has fired federal workers responsible for tracking cases and managing the federal response. Gillibrand is calling on the administration to take action to address the outbreak and support the development and approval of a vaccine to bring down egg prices, reduce the need to depopulate flocks, and safeguard public health.