A mutation of the coronavirus was found in minks in Denmark last year. As a result, all animals in the country were culled. Concern about a mutation in mink is also growing in Finland – which is why they are now being vaccinated against Corona.
In Finland, corona vaccinations for mink have started. The animals, whose fur is used for furs, have been vaccinated since Wednesday, according to a message from the Finnish Fur Breeders Association. “It’s great that, after a long approval process and after manufacturing vaccines, we are now the first in the European Union to be able to vaccinate animals,” says Marja Tiura, Managing Director of Fifur.
The vaccine was developed in a joint project between the fur breeders’ association and researchers at the University of Helsinki. The experimental vaccine called “FurcoVac” was granted a conditional use permit by the Finnish Food Authority on September 22nd, 2021. According to the first test results, the vaccination reaction of the animals was good. On December 20, the agency issued a conditional use license for a larger batch of vaccines. Only Fifur, who helped fund the vaccine, is currently allowed to use the vaccine.
Coronavirus: Around 200,000 mink are to be vaccinated
In a first step, 50,000 doses of “FurcoVac” are to be inoculated, according to Jussi Peura, research director at Fifur, who is responsible for corona prevention there. “The aim is to be able to vaccinate all of the little minky bits in the breed after the turn of the year.” There are an estimated around 200,000 mink to be immunized. Each animal received two doses of the vaccine. The establishments that vaccinate first are in the communities where the highest number of human Covid cases have been recorded.
“Given that the starting point was a new disease for which there was no vaccine and the disease is transmissible from animals to humans, developing the vaccine was quite an undertaking. It was one of our top priorities over the past year,” said Peura to the Finnish broadcaster.
Strict protective measures against the corona virus are already in place in Finland’s mink farms. This reduces access to the farms to a minimum. According to yle, no case of corona has so far been discovered in mink in Finland.
The background to the vaccine project were corona outbreaks on mink farms in the Netherlands and Denmark. In Denmark, a corona virus mutated into mink had also spread to humans. As a result, the government ordered all mink in the country to be culled. The mass killing of animals there had developed into a political scandal. A minister therefore submitted his resignation, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been under pressure ever since. A committee of inquiry is shedding light on the case. You can read more about this here.
Source From: Stern
