Cincinnati Zoo administers COVID-19 vaccine for 80 animals – from giraffes to great apes

Eighty animals at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine created for veterinary use.

According to a Monday news release from the zoo, veterinary technicians have been administering vaccines to big cats, great apes, giraffes, red pandas, skunks, goats, river otters, bearcats and domestic dogs and cats. The team worked with zookeepers over several weeks to ensure that the animals would be as comfortable as possible when receiving the injections.

“We usually have a year for the animals that receive flu shots and other routine annual vaccinations to forget about the sting, but the second COVID shots had to be given within three weeks of the first,” said Mark Campbell, director of animal health for the zoo, in the news release.

“We were concerned that the fresh memory of the first injection would make animals less willing to offer a shoulder or thigh for the second round, but they did," Campbell continued. "That success is 100% due to the strong relationships these animals have with care staff and our animal health team.”

Video: Gorillas at the Atlanta zoo to be vaccinated after testing positive for COVID-19

The zoo also noted that most of the injections didn't require anesthesia and that no negative reactions to the vaccine have been observed. The remaining animals at the zoo will receive their second doses this week or next.

The vaccines administered at the Cincinnati Zoo were provided by Zoetis, a global animal health company. In July, the company announced it would be donating over 11,000 doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine to zoos across the country – including the Oakland Zoo and Des Moines' Blank Park Zoo.

The vaccine is uniquely designed for animals and was created amid rising COVID-19 infections in animals across the country.

Georgia: 18 gorillas in Atlanta zoo show COVID symptoms after delta exposure, may receive vaccines

Washington: Nine big cats in the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo test positive for COVID

“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,” stated Mahesh Kumar, senior vice president of Global Biologics at Zoetis, in the July press release.

“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," Kumar added.

Contributing: Emily DeLetter, The Cincinnati Enquirer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cincinnati Zoo vaccinates 80 animals: Giraffes, apes get COVID vaccine