MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Experts of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance do not see the need for total vaccination of domestic animals against COVID-19 because risks of people’s infection from animals are low, adviser to the head of the service Yulia Melano told TASS on Wednesday.
"Experts of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance see no need in sweeping vaccination of domestic animals because risks of people being infected with COVID-19 from animals are actually negligible and no such official and scientifically proven cases have been registered," Melano said.
It is the Russian government that takes a decision on large-scale vaccination of animals, the adviser said. The scale and the compulsory nature of vaccination will depend on the situation with the novel coronavirus spread among animals in Russia and worldwide, Melano noted. The regulator continues monitoring domestic fur farms in respect of virus identification.
"In case threats occur in the fur sector or in any other ones, we will have efficient resources to eliminate them, including through vaccination. Prophylaxis, in particular, will prevent the scenario implemented by Danish authorities, when eliminating the entire mink stock," Melano said.
It was reported earlier on March 31 that the world’s first animal vaccine against the novel coronavirus was registered in Russia. Mass vaccine production may start as early as in April 2021.