In February, several bonobos and orangutans at the San Diego Zoo received an experimental COVID-19 vaccine that was developed for animals, becoming the first non-human primates to get inoculated.
One of those orangutans, Karen, has made medical history before — in 1994, she became the first ape to ever undergo open-heart surgery. A total of four orangutans and five bonobos received two doses of the vaccine, developed by Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company. Zoetis began working on the vaccine after the first dog tested positive for COVID-19 in Hong Kong last spring, and testing started on dogs and cats in October.
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