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Half a million sharks could be killed for their natural oil to make coronavirus vaccines, according to conservationists.
An ingredient used in some COVID-19 Candidate vaccine is squalene, a natural oil made from the liver of sharks.
Squalene is currently used as an adjuvant in medicine, an ingredient that increases the effectiveness of a vaccine by creating a stronger immune response.
Scientists are testing synthetic alternatives to avoid threatening shark populations
The British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline currently uses shark squalene in flu shots.
The company said it would manufacture 1 billion doses of this adjuvant for potential use in vaccines for coronavirus In May.
About 3,000 sharks are needed to extract one ton of squalene.
Shark Allies, a group based in California, suggests that if the world’s population were to receive a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine containing liver oil, around 250,000 sharks would need to be killed, depending on the amount of squalene used.
If two doses are needed to immunize the world’s population, which the researchers probably say, this would increase to half a million.
To avoid a threat to shark populations, scientists are testing an alternative to squalene, a synthetic version made from fermented sugar cane.
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Stefanie Brendl, founder and CEO of Shark Allies, said: “Harvesting something from a wild animal will never be sustainable, especially if it is a top predator that does not reproduce in large numbers.
“There are so many unknowns of how big and how long this pandemic could last, and then how many versions of it we have to go through, that if we continue to use sharks, the number of sharks caught for this product could be really high, year after year after year. “
According to estimates by conservationists, about three million sharks are killed each year by squalene, which is also used in cosmetics and machine oil.
There are fears that a sudden increase in demand for liver oil could threaten populations and see more endangered species, as many squalene-rich species, such as the devouring shark, are already vulnerable.
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