Moscow, March 31: Russia has registered the world's first coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for animals, country's veterinary and phytosanitary watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor announced on Wednesday. Named Carnivac-Cov, the Russian coronavirus vaccine is designed for animals that are vulnerable to COVID-19 infection like cats, dogs and minks. It is developed by the Federal Centre for Animal Health. The vaccine had shown no side effects during trials,

"Dogs, cats, arctic foxes, mink, foxes, and other animals were involved in the clinical trials of Carnivac-Cov, which started in October of last year. The results of the tests allow us to conclude that the vaccine is harmless for the animals and has high immunogenic activity, with coronavirus antibodies developing in 100% of cases," Konstantin Savenkov, Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor, was quoted by Sputnik News as saying. COVID-19 Vaccine Latest News Update: Russia Registers Its Third Anti-Coronavirus Vaccine 'CoviVac'.

Russian plans to start mass production of Carnivac-Cov in April this year. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, companies from Greece, Australia, Poland, Canada, the US, and Singapore have shown interest in purchasing the COVID-19 vaccine for animals. There have been multiple reports of pet animals contracting the coronavirus in different parts of the world.

Besides a vaccine for animals, Russia has registered two vaccines against coronavirus for humans. Named Sputnik V, the first vaccine was registered in August last year. The second vaccine EpiVacCorona was registered in October 2020. Third Russian vaccine for coronavirus, CoviVac, was registered in February this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2021 01:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).