ZooTampa Among 70 Zoos In Country To Receive Specially Made COVID-19 Vaccines For Animals

TAMPA, FL — ZooTampa at Lowry Park is among the first zoos in Florida to begin vaccinating animals identified as most susceptible to COVID-19.

The zoo began vaccinating animals this week. The Jacksonville Zoo was the first to use the vaccine created specifically for animals in September.

The vaccine was developed exclusively for animals by the Michigan-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis to vaccinate species that are known to be more vulnerable to contracting the virus in other zoological organizations throughout the country.

“The safety and well-being of the more than 1,000 animals entrusted to our care is of paramount priority. We have not had any cases of animals contracting COVID-19 at ZooTampa and continue to follow stringent protocols which have been in place since the beginning of the pandemic,” said senior vice president of animal health, conservation and education, Dr. Cynthia Stringfield.

“The animals routinely get other vaccinations. Many of the animals are trained to present themselves to our animal care staff for minor medical procedures, including vaccinations," Stringfield said. "We’re both thankful and relieved a special vaccine is now available to protect animals against COVID-19, some which are endangered and threatened species.”

The zoo’s veterinary team developed a schedule for the vaccine rollout. Species such as Florida panthers, skunks, otters and primates are on top of the list to vaccinate. The zoo received a shipment of approximately 220 doses – enough to vaccinate roughly 19 species, which includes 93 animals.

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ZooTampa is one of approximately 70 zoos, research institutions and sanctuaries working with Zoetis, which has donated the vaccine doses.

“Our expert staff of animal care and medical professionals will continue to monitor our animals throughout the vaccination process closely,” said Stringfield.

The Zoetis COVID-19 vaccine received investigational authorization by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Zoetis’ research and development team applied decades of experience developing other antiviral vaccines for cats, dogs, poultry, and cattle to create a COVID-19 vaccine uniquely formulated for animal species.

ZooTampa is one of the few zoos in Florida that has begun vaccinating vulnerable animals.

They join the Audubon Zoo and the Aububon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio, which are also vaccinating animals against the coronavirus.

Zoetis has donated more than 11,000 doses of the vaccine to dozens of zoos, conservatories, sanctuaries and other organizations across 27 states.

The vaccine deployment to dozens of zoos follows Zoetis’ response in January to a request from the San Diego Zoo following confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Receiving their first shipment of vaccines on June 29, Oakland Zoo in Northern California quickly assembled their veterinary and animal care teams to begin vaccinations of their highest at risk animals the following morning.

Tigers, black bears, grizzly bears, mountain lions and ferrets were the first to receive the first of two doses. The next priority mammals are chimpanzees, fruit bats and pigs.

“Up until now, we have been using public barriers at certain habitats to ensure social distancing, along with enhanced PPE worn by staff to protect our susceptible species from COVID-19. We’re happy and relieved to now be able to better protect our animals with this vaccine, and are very thankful to Zoetis for not only creating it, but for donating it to us and dozens of other AZA-accredited zoos across the U.S.,” said Dr. Alex Herman, vice president of veterinary services at Oakland Zoo.

“Zoetis has a long history of supporting zoo veterinarians and the animals in their care,” said Dr. Mike McFarland, chief medical officer at Zoetis. “We are proud that our innovative research and development work and vaccine donations can help veterinary professionals within the zoo community continue to provide a high standard of care to the primates, big cats, and many other species they care for and reduce the risk of COVID-19.”
COVID-19 vaccine designed for animals

To further support veterinarians, Zoetis also developed and validated feline- and canine-specific real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).

“When the first dog was infected with COVID-19 in Hong Kong last year, we immediately began to work on a vaccine that could be used in domestic animals, and in eight months we completed our initial safety studies, which we presented at the World One Health Congress last year. While thankfully a COVID-19 vaccine is not needed in pets or livestock at this time, we are proud that our work can help zoo animals at risk of COVID-19,” said Mahesh Kumar, senior vice president of global biologics at Zoetis. “More than ever before, the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the important connection between animal health and human health, and we continue to monitor for emerging infectious diseases that can impact animals as well as people.”

According to the World Health Organization, at least 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases have an animal origin, including COVID-19.