Russia announced Wednesday it had registered the coronavirus vaccine Carnivac-Cov for animals. The vaccine was tested on dogs, cats, mink, rabbits, foxes and other animals and proven to be effective, it said.
“All test animals that were vaccinated developed antibodies to coronavirus in 100 percent of cases,” said Konstantin Savenkov, deputy head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision. “It is the world’s first and only product for preventing COVID-19 in animals,” he said.
Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement that the vaccine would help prevent mutations in animals, referring to Denmark’s decision to kill 17 million mink last year after some animals were carrying a mutated virus variant.
The agency added that companies exploiting animals from countries including Greece, Poland, Austria, the United States, Canada and Singapore had expressed interest in Carnivac-Cov.
Military officials in Russia announced earlier this week that army dogs would undergo mandatory vaccination. Russia said mass production of the vaccine could begin in April.