• Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar has launched the country’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine “Anocovax” for animals, developed by Haryana-based ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (NRC).
• Anocovax is an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Delta (COVID-19) vaccine for animals.
• The immunity induced by Anocovax neutralises both Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Key points:

• The vaccine contains inactivated SARS-CoV-2 (Delta) antigen with Alhydrogel as an adjuvant. It is safe for dogs, lions, leopards, mice and rabbits, it added.
• The COVID-19 vaccine for animals, Anocovax, is effective and capable of neutralising both Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2.