Officials say 80 animals have been given two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.Photo: DDP
TeeRoy's 2 Cents:
Of course there are animal rights groups criticizing programs to vaccinate animals.
It's known that animals can get infected, so why not vaccinate them and keep them safe?
There may be new variants of COVID that are starting in animals.
Zoo officials say handlers spent weeks getting the animals "comfortable with everything that they would see and feel when they got the injections" and they then successfully vaccinated a variety of animals including giraffes, apes, big cats, goats, river otters and more. The animals received two doses of the vaccine which was made specifically for veterinary use.
Some animals, like big cats, have been especially susceptible to COVID. Nine cats at the National Zoo in Washington, DC have been infected with the virus. An unvaccinated lion at the Honolulu Zoo died from the virus. There have also been outbreaks of COVID among gorillas at zoos in San Diego and Atlanta. (NBC News)