COVID-19 Vaccine Could Lead To Half A Million Shark Deaths, Experts Warn
Experts warn that the COVID-19 vaccine production could lead to half a million shark deaths, as the mammals produce a natural oil which is used an ingredient in several vaccine candidates.
Conservationists say many of these candidates, like British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, rely on shark livers as they produce a natural oil called squalene, which is known to create a strong response from the recipient’s immune system. GlaxoSmithKline currently uses the oil in their flu vaccines.
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While the company plans to produce a billion doses of the vaccine for potential use in May 2021, environmentalist groups are speaking out to save these mammals. They say it takes around 3,000 sharks to extract1 tonne (or 1,000 kilograms // 2,204 pounds) of squalene. California’s Shark Allies activist group says that if the world’s population received one dose of the vaccine containing the liver oil, about 250,000 sharks would be slaughtered. However, if two doses are needed, which is likely according to experts, the amount of shark deaths would equate to half a million.
In prevention of threatening shark populations, scientists are testing alternatives to squalene, which looks to be a synthetic version made from fermented sugar cane.
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