On 9th June 2022, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar virtually launched India’s first-ever COVID-19 vaccine for animals. 

Anocovax, developed by Haryana’s ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE), works against SARS-CoV-2 Delta. The immunity elicited by Anocovax neutralizes both the Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, stated the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

"It is due to the untiring contributions of scientists that the country stands self-reliant in developing its own vaccines rather than importing. This is really a big achievement," said Tomar. 

Anocovax is said to be safe for dogs, lions, leopards, mice, and rabbits. 

Moreover, diagnostic kits for animals have also been produced by the ICAR-NRC known as the “CAN-CoV-2 ELISA kit”. It is a sensitive and specific nucleocapsid protein-based indirect ELISA kit for the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in canines.

"There are no laboratory animals required for the preparation of the antigens. The kit is homegrown and a patent has been filed for it. No other similar kits for detection of antibodies in canines are available in the market," the ICAR said.