Never before has this dual reality – of cruel and inapplicable animal experiments happening alongside new and exciting non-animal methods – been starker than it is at the present time.
Second to mice, primates are being used in large numbers for vaccine
research...
Thousands of animals are tragically being killed for research into COVID-19. Yet, as CAARE has previously shown, animal models consistently fail to predict human outcomes and there is an urgent need to rely on superior, non-animal alternatives to end this pandemic.
DNA chip...
An international team of scientific experts has determined that the best way to quickly find safe and effective treatments for COVID-19 is through novel, non-animal alternatives, pointing out: “These technologies and methods have consistently proved to be human-relevant and effective, allowing safe progression to clinical testing in a shorter amount of time as compared to traditional animal testing.”
Organ-on-chip models, or miniature organ models created from human stem cells, provide detailed, human-relevant insight into the disease. One group of researchers is creating organ chips of the nose, mouth, eyes and lungs to study why SARS-CoV-2 – the virus responsible for COVID – is so successful at bypassing the normal immune barriers.
Diagram of organoids...
Others are using donated human cells obtained from the upper airway and
cultivated in the lab to simulate how the bronchial epithelium responds to
the virus. They’ve shown this method can be used to study how COVID-19
damages healthy airway cells, and also its impact on cells from donors with
diseases like asthma and COPD.
Unfortunately, tens of thousands of animals continue to be harmed and
precious time wasted, in futile animal experiments for COVID-19. Most
species do not become infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, especially mice,
the most commonly used animal in labs.
Grabbing a white Mouse...
Multiple universities now claim to have developed a new “mouse model” to
study COVID-19, with one team boasting about their “off the shelf tool” that
can convert any mouse into one that can be infected with the virus. This is
done by forcing the mouse to inhale a gene vector that inserts the human
receptor into the airway.
Second to mice, primates are being used in large numbers for vaccine
research. NIH’s vaccine, developed in conjunction with biotech company
Moderna, originally made headlines for bypassing animal testing before
initiating human trials. Though the human study showed the vaccine was safe
and effective, NIH scientists still intentionally infected macaque monkeys
with the virus.
Never before has this dual reality – of cruel and inapplicable animal
experiments happening alongside new and exciting non-animal methods – been
starker than it is at the present time.
This is why CAARE has spurred a movement to inform how animals can be
replaced with modern methods. It’s clear that public awareness is essential
to rouse government and industry from its die-hard overdependence on animal
experiments. We will not see an end to animal experiments without that.
Return to Alternatives to Animal Testing, Experimentation and Dissection