Due to the vaccine against COVID-19, as many as 500.000 sharks can be killed

Wildlife experts claim that half a million sharks could be killed in an attempt to find a vaccine against COVID-19.

Source: B92
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Foto: GettyImages, Dan Kitwood / Staff
Foto: GettyImages, Dan Kitwood / Staff

Squalene, a natural oil in shark liver, is used as a medicine and as an aid to increase the effectiveness of the vaccine.

It is also used in trial coronavirus vaccines.

If the drug containing squalene is effective and its wider production begins, the organization "Shark Allies" believes that about 250.000 sharks will have to be killed in order to provide one dose for each person.

This number doubles and becomes frightening if people need two doses of the vaccine instead of one to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Stephanie Brandl, founder and CEO of the organization "Shark Allies", said that harvesting something from a wild animal will never be sustainable, especially if it is a "predator that does not reproduce in huge numbers".

"We are not trying to slow down or disrupt vaccine production. With the billions of doses needed each year, for decades to come, it is crucial that we do not rely on wildlife resources," she wrote in a Facebook post.

The group has launched an online petition urging not to use sharks in the COVID-19 vaccine, but existing and long-term sustainable options.

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