Without a new policy including vaccines, the government will continue to slaughter every flock with a bird flu infection to limit the spread of the disease. Those deaths have totaled over 166 million birds in the U.S. since 2022.

A lot goes into the production of eggs — and with the Trump administration’s tariff policies potentially affecting costs for chicken feed and equipment, bird flu isn’t the only reason U.S. consumers may continue to pay high prices for eggs at the grocery store.

The US government is considering bird flu vaccines to prevent the mass culling of infected chickens, which has driven egg prices to nearly $6 per dozen.