New vaccine expected to give endangered California condors protection against deadly bird flu

By STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wildlife officials say antibodies found in early results of a historic new vaccine trial are expected to give endangered California condors at least partial protection from the deadliest strain of avian influenza in U.S. history. Experts have spent the past 40 years trying to prevent the extinction of the iconic vulture with a 10-foot wingspan. The wild population today is fewer than 350 condors in flocks spanning from the Pacific Northwest to Baja California, Mexico. The outbreak threatens threatens decades of conservation efforts and endangers dozens of birds’ lives. The California condor is the only bird in the U.S. that have been approved for the new emergency-use avian influenza vaccine.