Pets and coronavirus vaccines: What vets say Australians must know

More Aussies may be getting coronavirus vaccines for their pets — but experts explain what they can catch and how to protect them.

As the country edges closer to the vaccination target and easing of restrictions within sight, pet owners may be wondering if their furry friends can also be getting a jab against Covid-19.

And while experts say there is currently no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the disease to people, infections have been confirmed in various species worldwide.

These include dogs, cats, apes and even mink.

But will your pet need a Covid-19 vaccine? We spoke to the experts and here is what we know so far.

Can our pets get Covid-19? What research is there around this?

“Yes, animals can catch Covid-19 from humans, but it is important to understand that it is very rare for this to happen,” Dr Edward Bassingthwaighte, from the Healing Vet, said.

“Even with the hundreds of millions of cases in humans, many of whom own pets, only a handful of dogs and cats have tested positive to Covid-19. The evidence strongly suggests that domestic pets do not transmit the disease to humans. They don't seem to get very sick with it in the rare cases that they do catch it.

“However, ferrets and other mustelids (mink etc) are far more susceptible to Covid-19, and often die from it. There are recorded cases of transmission from mink to humans in mink farms.”

While animals can catch Covid-19, experts say it is extremely rare.

How is it transmitted to pets? Can they catch it from humans?

“We think animals may be exposed if there pet owner tests positive and it somehow gets into the animals body,” Dr Bassingthwaighte said.

“If you take a swab of an animal that may have been exposed, you may find some small fragments of the virus in their body or it can be detected when they’re shedding like through their saliva or stool.”

“But unless they are primates they do not become symptomatic or infectious to other animals or humans,” Dr Alison Wardman, from Sydney University Vet & Emergency Clinic, said.

Pets have traditionally received coronavirus jabs as part of their vaccine schedule.

Is the one being administered this year the same, or does it account for other variants like Delta which are plaguing humans?

There are no Covid-19 vaccine for pets, but there are pet-specific coronavirus vaccines unrelated to Covid-19 says Dr Bassingthwaighte.

“Each species has its own requirements for vaccines that they need. All of these things are very animal specific,” he said.

“However, Covid-19 is a coronavirus and there are lots of different coronaviruses. So there are coronaviruses like colds viruses that infect humans, there are coronaviruses species specific for dogs and coronaviruses specific for cats.

“Dogs in Australia, for example, generally receive vaccinations for canine parvovirus, canine adenovirus, canine distemper, Bordetella, para-influenza, leptospirosis and canine coronavirus.”

If the existing pet coronavirus jab doesn't include a mix which fights the current Covid strains, at what point will pets be vaccinated against Covid-19?

“We simply don’t know the answers to these important questions, as no research has been done with domestic pets. Some zoo animals have been vaccinated, and I assume that human vaccines would have been used in those cases, and in the same way as with humans,” Dr Bassingthwaighte said.

“There are only human vaccines available. There has been no directive for vets to vaccinate domestic pets against Covid-19.”

How many Covid-19 jabs would a pet receive? One dose or two? and would they get a certain brand of jab, like Pfizer or AstraZeneca?

“I would be very surprised if that were to happen because we are struggling to get enough vaccines for our human population, and the risk from domestic animals is so low as to be almost non-existent,” Dr Bassingthwaighte said.

Originally published as Pets and coronavirus vaccines: What vets say Australians must know