ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Saint Louis Zoo has vaccinated its first animal against COVID-19 and will be vaccinating more "at-risk" species.
On Wednesday morning, 29-year-old chimpanzee "Jimiyu" received the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines during a regularly scheduled veterinary exam. It was given a dose of Zoetis, which has been authorized for use on animals on a case-by-case, experimental basis.
The Zoo will administer the two-dose vaccine to almost 100 primates, big cats, river otters, painted dogs and bat-eared foxes over the next few months. These species are at risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. Doses are given three weeks apart and full vaccination is reached two weeks after the second dose.
“Preventive health is most of what we do here,” said Sathya Chinnadurai (pronounced SAHTH-ya chin-ah-DURE-ay), DVM, Director of Animal Health, Saint Louis Zoo. “We really believe in keeping our animals healthy, not just treating them when they are sick. Vaccines are nothing new for us. As with every vaccine we administer, we first determine risk of exposure, risk of illness from the disease and potential vaccine side-effects. With cases of coronavirus infection coming up in zoos around the country, we are lucky to be able to give this vaccine to our at-risk patients.”
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