Russia registers world’s first Covid-19 vaccine for cats & dogs as makers of Sputnik V warn pets & farm animals could spread virus — RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

https://www.rt.com/russia/519683-animals-coronavirus-vaccine-registered/

A pioneering new formula that protects animals against
coronavirus has been registered in Russia days after one of the
country’s top scientists warned that the deadly pathogen could soon
begin spreading through homes and farms.

Rosselkhoznadzor, the
state agency responsible for veterinary medicine, announced on Wednesday
that the formula, developed by its researchers, had been officially
registered for use. Named Carnivac-Cov, the officials claim it is “the first, and to date, the only Covid-19 product in the world for animals.”

Clinical
trials of the vaccine began in October last year, testing its potential
on carnivores including dogs, cats, arctic foxes, minks and other
animals. According to the scientists, “the results of these studies
allow us to conclude that the vaccine is safe and highly immunogenic,
since all vaccinated animals that were tested developed antibodies to
the coronavirus.”

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Now, the team behind the jab says mass production of the vaccine
can begin as early as April, using the facilities of Russia’s Federal
Centre for Animal Health, the largest producer of veterinary medicine in
the country.

In a statement, Rosselkhoznadzor said that “the
vaccine is particularly important because, as the World Health
Organization for Animal Health notes, some species are susceptible to
Covid-19. Animal cases have been registered in many countries of the
world.”

In Russia, the authorities say, two cases of cats
infected with coronavirus have been registered, one in the capital,
Moscow, and another in the Siberian city of Tyumen.

On Monday,
Alexander Gintsburg, the director of Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, which
developed Sputnik V, the country’s first domestic Covid-19 vaccine for
humans, warned animals could become a new frontline in the fight against
the virus. He said that the pandemic “has not yet realized its
pathogenic potential… The next stage is the infection of farm and
domestic animals. And when we protect humanity with the help of good
vaccines within a year, pets will be infected by that time, and no one
is going to get rid of their beloved pets.”

READ MORE: Germany
urges Brussels to buy Russia’s Sputnik V before regulatory approval as
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“Therefore,” he argued, “the focus of this pathogen will
constantly be around us, and it will keep evolving. That is to say, we
must be prepared for a long existence with this pathogen.”

In
December, Denmark was forced to cull more than 15 million minks that
were being reared for their fur over fears of a mutated form of the
virus detected on several farms. However, a number of the animals
resurfaced from mass burial sites because of pressure from the gases
produced during their decay. This sparked fears of contamination, and 4
million mink corpses are set to be exhumed as part of a plan to deal
with the crisis.