Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's agriculture safety watchdog, stated that Russia has registered the world's first COVID-19 vaccine for animals, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.

Developed by a unit of Rosselkhoznadzor, this COVID-19 vaccine for animals is named Carnivac-Cov.

Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Konstantin Savenkov, was quoted as saying: "The clinical trials of Carnivac-Cov, which started last October, involved dogs, cats, Arctic foxes, minks, foxes and other animals. The results of the trials allow us to conclude that the vaccine is harmless and highly immunogenic as all the vaccinated animals developed antibodies to the coronavirus in 100% of cases."

Immunity lasts for six months after vaccination, but the vaccine developers are continuing to analyse this, Rosselkhoznadzor said, adding that mass production of the vaccine could start as early as April 2021.