Ten animals at a zoo in Philadelphia, USA, were vaccinated this week against Corona, led by a teacher named Charlie who got the first right, four more teachers, four gorillas and one orangutan.
In the coming weeks, they will be joined by 113 more animals from the zoo, who will receive a double dose from the experimental vaccine of Zoetis, the world's largest manufacturer of drugs and vaccines for animals (and formerly a subsidiary of Pfizer).
Although the Philadelphia Zoo has yet to report verified corona cases among its residents, the place decided to go for sure, as after reports of positive tigers in San Diego and gorillas in Atlanta, zoos that have already begun vaccinating their animals have accelerated the animal vaccination campaign across the US .
Gorillas at the Philadelphia Zoo, YouTube
Philadelphia, in fact, joins zoos in Denver, Auckland and Detroit, which have received more than 10,000 vaccine doses of animal vaccine from Zootis, with the animals at higher risk groups being the first to receive the shot.
"The lions, tigers, some bears, gorillas and orangutans know that if they cling to the fence with their shoulder or thigh and allow us to vaccinate them, they will receive a tasty reward in return," said Keith Hinshaw, the animal health officer at Philadelphia Zoo. Gorillas that showed signs of colds were tested and found to be negative for corona.
Although Zoatis' animal vaccines do not have a close expiration date, as the vaccine does not contain a live virus, the company recommends using the vaccine within 24 hours of opening the vial.
Each vial contains ten doses of vaccine, so the trend is to vaccinate ten animals at a time.
Orangutan, Archive, Tibor Jaeger
"Anything that can be done to prevent the virus from spreading in animals is an advantage," Hinshou concluded, "because whenever the virus replicates itself, there is a chance of a more dangerous variant than we have now. Therefore vaccines are very important for animals as well as humans. ".