India’s first Covid-19 vaccine for animals

Tags: Science and Technology

The Agriculture Ministry recently unveiled India’s first Covid-19 vaccine for animals.

• The name of the vaccine is 'Ancovax' and it can protect animals against the Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2.

• How does it work?

• Ancovax can be used in dogs, lions, leopards, rats and rabbits.

• It has been developed by the Hisar-based National Research Centre on Equines. 

• It is an inactivated vaccine developed using an infectious part of the delta variant.

• It uses Alhydrogel as an adjuvant to boost the immune response.

• This is the first Covid-19 vaccine for animals developed in India.

• Last year there were reports from Russia that it too had developed a vaccine against animals such as dogs, cats, minks and foxes.