Several vaccine makers are working to develop and test shots that would protect humans from the bird flu, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia and Oregon.

• District of Columbia: Several vaccine makers are working to develop and test shots that would protect humans from the bird flu. So far, an outbreak of avian flu known as H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b has killed record numbers of infected birds and mammals. While global health officials have said the risk of transmission between humans remains low, some of the world's leading flu vaccine manufacturers are preparing for a potential jump from birds to humans. In particular, executives at three vaccine manufacturers — GlaxoSmithKline, Moderna, and CSL Seqirus — said they are already developing or preparing to test sample human vaccines as a preventive measure against a future pandemic. In addition, the Dutch government on Friday said a veterinary research center found that two vaccines, which were developed by  Ceva Animal Health  and  Boehringer Ingelheim, are effective against bird flu. "Not only did the vaccines give poultry used in the lab protection against disease symptoms but they also countered the spreading of the bird flu," the Dutch government said in a statement. (Rigby, Reuters, 3/20; Reuters, 3/17)

• District of Columbia: Last week, almost four dozen hospitals in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and Minnesota filed a lawsuit against  HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. In the lawsuit, the hospitals alleged that the agency owes tens of millions of dollars to dozens of safety-net hospitals for alleged delays in revising Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. In 2010, regulators acknowledged that the DSH payment calculations were incorrect; however, the lawsuit alleged that HHS has delayed the amended payments. "The agency's unreasonable delay has cost the plaintiff hospitals tens of millions of dollars in funds that should have been paid to them many years ago for the higher costs that they incurred to treat low-income patients more than a decade ago," the lawsuit said. (Kacik, Modern Healthcare, 3/17)

• Oregon: Scenic Fruit Company has recalled frozen fruit distributed to major food retailers, including  Costco  and  Trader Joe's, citing concerns over an outbreak of Hepatitis A. In particular, the recall includes frozen organic strawberries sold at grocery stores in specific states and a frozen organic tropical fruit blend sold nationwide at Trader Joe's.  FDA  on Friday shared an announcement from the company, saying it had stopped producing and distributing the fruit. "Although Hepatitis A has not been detected on this product, out of an abundance of caution, consumers should stop consuming the product and return it to their local store for a refund," the announcement said. (Habeshian, Axios, 3/17)