Long article,snippet
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/zoos-have-started-vaccinating-animals-against-the-coronavirus/2021/10/21/e07d6caa-26d0-11ec-9de8-156fed3e81bf_story.html - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/zoos-have-started-vaccinating-animals-against-the-coronavirus/2021/10/21/e07d6caa-26d0-11ec-9de8-156fed3e81bf_story.html
Zoetis, a former Pfizer subsidiary, started by focusing its research on cats and dogs, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture “said that they didn’t feel like cats and dogs were going to be a significant concern, so we parked that program,” Mahesh Kumar, vice president of global biologics research and development at Zoetis, told me. The company then shifted toward making one for minks, whose pelts are a nearly $50 million industry in the United States. From that program of vaccines, which Zoetis tested on minks, the company was able to provide batches to the San Diego Zoo for its primates.
“Obviously, we are not able to individually license a profile for every species. It’s not practical,” says Kumar. “So what we decided was to [develop] a vaccine formulation that was safe for all animals.” Soon, Zoetis was “inundated” with requests from zoos and, in July, pledged to donate 11,000 doses to nearly 70 zoos across the country. In total, the company has made about 4 million doses so far, most of which have gone to the farmed minks The animal vaccine has some similarities to the human ones, though they were developed differently. Like the Pfizer vaccine, the Zoetis version is designed to be two shots given three weeks apart. Vials of the vaccine also require refrigeration and need to be used within 24 hours of being opened.
But the Zoetis vaccine doesn’t employ messenger RNA like the Pfizer or Moderna human vaccines. Instead, it uses a viral spike protein created in a lab. When injected, it triggers an immune response in the animal’s body. It’s a technique that Zoetis has used before to create vaccines for animals. In terms of efficacy, Kumar says, it’s similar to the human vaccines. So far, according to zoos, the side effects appear to be minimal, perhaps even less so than with humans. Only one brown bear at the Oakland Zoo, according to Herman, seemed to experience soreness at the injection site after receiving the vaccine. Zoetis is planning to ship a second round of vaccines in the coming weeks to zoos to immunize mammals that veterinarians and keepers view as most at risk. This list includes primates, big cats, mustelids (such as river otters, wolverines and ferrets), canines (wolves and coyotes), bears (including pandas), flying foxes and hyenas.
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