First corona vaccine for animals registered in Russia: why is it necessary?
The first corona vaccine for animals has been registered in Russia. It concerns the Carnivac-Cov agent, agricultural supervisor Rosselkhoznadzor reports. There are concerns about the transmission of the coronavirus between animals and humans.
Russian researchers have also previously developed several corona vaccines for humans, of which Sputnik-V is the best known. They now have a world-first vaccine for animals. The development of Carnivac-Cov started last year and could go into mass production as early as April. The study included mink, dogs, cats, and arctic foxes.
A top Rosselkhoznadzor employee says all vaccinated animals developed antibodies. “Based on the test results, we can conclude that the vaccine is harmless and very effective,” he says. According to the researchers, the immunity lasts for at least six months after vaccination, but this could evolve further.
Russia expects there will be international demand for such an animal vaccine. There are many concerns about the transmission of the coronavirus between animals and humans. Several countries, including the Netherlands, have had millions of minks culled as a precaution.
Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) also released the long-awaited final report of the WHO mission to China, intended to investigate the origin of the virus.
The experts who took part in the mission were unable to pinpoint a precise place of origin, but all things considered, the most likely scenario is that the coronavirus in southern China has passed from bats to a farm animal and then gradually adapted to humans.
