New strains of the novel coronavirus that have recently emerged in various locations around the world have prompted government officials and public health experts to reconsider tactics for combating the viral pandemic. In a new editorial, health experts suggest that pet cats and dogs may need vaccination to support efforts to contain the coronavirus.
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues in the UK, with the government striving to vaccinate 15 million people by mid-February, scientists propose that a widespread vaccine launch is not sufficient to mitigate the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic. They suggest that vaccinating pet cats and dogs against the novel coronavirus may be necessary in the future to contain the deadly virus and prevent another outbreak. This warning comes from experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA), a research facility based in Norwich, the Earlham Institute, and the University of Minnesota.
The experts, who published their proposals in the prestigious scientific journal Virulence, highlight that evolutionary mutations of the virus in animals, followed by potential transmission to humans, pose a significant long-term risk to public health. They stated, “It is not unlikely that vaccinating certain types of pets will be essential to reduce the spread of viral infection in the future.”
In an interview with Jeremy Fine magazine on Monday evening, Dr. Sarah Jarvis emphasized that the warning from experts regarding the importance of vaccinating household dogs and cats should be taken seriously. She added, “We have forgotten about roughly 17 million minks that were slaughtered after contracting the virus from humans and then mutated into a version that could not respond to the vaccines, so we need to be concerned.”
Dr. Cook van Oosterhout, one of the article's authors and a professor of evolutionary genetics at the University of East Anglia, mentioned that dogs and cats can contract the novel coronavirus, but there are no known cases of the virus being transmitted back to humans. He added, “It makes sense to develop vaccines specifically for household pets as a precautionary measure to reduce this risk. What we really need as a human society is to be prepared for any possibility when it comes to the novel coronavirus.”
