Apes at San Diego Zoo get Covid-19 vaccines

The San Diego Zoo has made history as the first facility in the world to give non-human primate species the Covid-19 vaccine, reports Al Jazeera.

Nine apes (four orangutans and five bonobos) received two jabs initially designed to vaccinate cats and dogs, with zoo officials taking the decision to inoculate the primates after eight apes contracted the infectious disease at the zoo in January.

Among the recipients is a 28-year-old Sumatran orangutan named Karen, a primate already made famous for being the first ape to go under the knife for open heart surgery in 1994.

TimesLIVE