In the United States began to vaccinate animals against COVID-19

Animals will be vaccinated against COVID-19, reports “Voice of America«.

Photo: Shutterstock

More than 6,5 billion doses of vaccines have been delivered worldwide by mid-October.
This is enough to vaccinate 43% of the world's inhabitants.

This is a historic in scale campaign for the vaccination of humanity. Now it's the animals' turn.

More than 70 zoos in the United States have begun vaccinating their wards, who also suffer from COVID-19 and also die from the virus.

A special vaccine has been developed for animals.

At the end of September, 6 lions and 3 tigers at the National Zoo in Washington DC contracted the coronavirus.

“The disease spread instantly,” says the zoo’s chief veterinarian, Don Neifer. “After the first big cat fell ill, 48 hours passed—when all the other felines began to behave lethargically, lost their appetite, and began to have a dry cough. And then we began to act."

Lions and tigers have developed a secondary bacterial infection. It was her who began to be treated in the first place.

“There is no cure for COVID-19, so our veterinarians began giving the animals antibiotics and pain medications to increase their appetite,” said Greg Ceffo, zoo curator.
The zoo says that now all the animals are doing well, but no one knows how they got infected.

“It is most likely that the virus was brought by one of the zoo workers who had no symptoms. The virus is transmitted through the air and can penetrate a mask,” adds Steffo.

Zoos report that other animals, such as primates, are also affected by the coronavirus. Zoos in Washington and Baltimore are planning to vaccinate their animals with experimental vaccines. They say that this will not be a big stress for the animals - they are already used to injections.

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Helen Bronson, a zoo worker, says that at first they simulate an injection by touching the animals with a thin stick, gradually replacing the stick of injection.

As a result, the animals hardly notice the needle prick.

The animal vaccine for COVID-19 was developed by Zoetis. It will provide over 11000 free doses of vaccine nationwide. This will be a kind of drug testing. Although the drug has already proven its safety in use on pets, dogs and cats.

Whether it will be effective for zoo animals, especially against the Delta strain, needs to be tested.

Magesh Kumar, vice president of the manufacturing company, says that after two doses, the risk of contamination of the animal can be reduced. Groups of zoos that have received the vaccine are required to pass the efficacy data to the manufacturer.

At the Dakota Zoo, a snow leopard died, lost his appetite, began to cough and was very lethargic. Two days after breathing problems, the animal died. Experts cannot say for sure if it was a coronavirus.

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At the Maryland Zoo, hope the vaccine will help animals, especially those that are already on the verge of extinction. They have already introduced additional security measures to prevent transmission of the virus from person to animal.

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