An advocacy group for sharks has warned that the hasty hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine could mean a death sentence for many sharks across the globe even as the world races against time to find an effective vaccine for the pandemic that has killed almost 1 million people worldwide.
“Shark Allies” claims that at least 500,000 sharks around the world could be killed in the process of developing a vaccine.
Most commercial vaccines require an adjuvant, which is a pharmacological or immunological agent. It helps improve the immune response of a vaccine.
This ingredient is found in the livers of sharks, and is intrinsic to producing a quick and effective immune response. Another factor which puts sharks at a higher risk of being butchered is the fact that countries around the world are trying to fast-track mass production of the vaccine to inoculate large number of…