Chile, the first country in Latin America to vaccinate animals against COVID-19

Ten animals from the Buin Zoo, in Santiago de Chile, became the first in Latin America to be immunized against the COVID-19 with an experimental vaccine developed by the Zoetis veterinary laboratory.

Three lions, three tigers, three pumas and an orangutan received the first dose of the vaccine on December 13 and will receive the second in a few weeks, the largest zoo in Chile reported on Thursday.

The selection of the species was made according to and none of the animals showed adverse reactions, explained the institution, which was closed for months due to sanitary restrictions to contain the pandemic.

“It is a great pride to be the first zoo in Latin America to participate in this study and that already has some of its animals protected against the virus”, affirmed the director of Buin Zoo, Ignacio Idalsoaga.

The animals were not anesthetized to receive their respective doses, but were

The vaccine applied in Buin, which passed all Chilean health controls to be applied and is from, is the same that was used at the San Diego Zoo, in the United States, which immunized its first nine apes last March.

“The virus is the same as in human vaccines, however, animal vaccines vary in the carrier that is used. The unique combination between the antigen and the carrier ensures safety and efficacy “, said Cristian Dunivicher, technical manager of the Zoetis Laboratory.

Chile, where the pandemic has been under control for months despite the arrival of the contagious omicron variant, was also the first country in the region to initiate human vaccination a year ago and currently

So far, more than 10.5 million people have the booster dose and health authorities announced this Thursday that they will give a fourth injection from the second half of February.

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