At least 75 people have been administered dog coronavirus vaccines by two veterinary surgeons in Chile in the months before human jabs arrived in the country.
The veterinary surgeons have been investigated for allegedly giving canine vaccines to at least 75 people including health workers and miners in Calama city of Chile.
According to South China Morning Post, the vaccines were not the same as the Sars-CoV-2 virus responsible for the global human pandemic.
The investigation was reportedly opened after the health officials found workers at a veterinary clinic in Calama operating without masks last September. After questioning the workers, they claimed they had been vaccinated by a local vet.
It must be noted here that the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines had arrived in Chile months later, in December.
After expanding the scope of the investigation, the concerned authorities traced that another vet had given the canine vaccine to more people.
Rossana Diaz, the health secretary of the Antofagasta region, told broadcaster 24horas, “This is very dangerous. There are studies saying that the effects in humans can be local, as in irritation … or systemic.”
The two cases came to light this week when health officials reported to prosecutors that the vets had failed to pay the fines they had been given.
The Seremi public health authority said at least 75 people had received the dog inoculations, including health workers and miners.
Chile has so far given at least one dose of an approved Covid-19 vaccine to some 7.7 million people, out of a 15.2 million target population. The country has registered 1.13 million coronavirus infections and more than 25,000 deaths.
