The federal government is shopping for up to 6,965,000 rabies-vaccine baits. The customer is USDA Wildlife Services, and the intended recipients are wild carnivores that are unlikely to make an appointment, roll up a sleeve, or remain politely in the waiting room.
The purchase calls for RABORAL V-RG oral rabies vaccine in two constructions: a coated sachet and a fishmeal polymer block. Each bait carries an identifying label and a toll-free number. That last detail gives the whole operation the faint air of a very large, very carefully managed snack distribution program.
Inside the bait is a live recombinant vaccine. It uses an attenuated vaccinia virus to carry the gene for a rabies glycoprotein. The notice is explicit that the vaccine cannot cause rabies; when an animal receives an adequate dose, it produces antibodies in most carnivore species.
Wildlife Services wants the baits available on demand during 2026 and 2027. The agency describes the supply as pre-purchased inventory that can be stored and released when extra demand appears. The planned contract is a one-year, firm-fixed-price arrangement with deliveries to destinations across the continental United States.
The funny part is the scale and the form factor: nearly seven million pieces of vaccine presented as something an animal might willingly pick up. The serious part is just as striking. A wildlife disease-control campaign depends on turning laboratory work, cold logistics, labeling and animal behavior into one object that can be dropped in the right place and eaten by the right creature.