500,000 sharks may have to die in the fight against COVID-19
A nonprofit organization estimates about 500,000 deep-sea sharks may need to die to supply the world with a coronavirus vaccine when one proves safe and effective.
A shark’s liver contains oil primarily made up of a compound called squalene, which can also be found in plants and humans. It’s largely known as a moisturizing agent in cosmetics such as skin creams and lip balms, but squalene is also used in some adjuvants — common ingredients in vaccines that help create a stronger immune response.
The compound has been used in U.S. flu vaccines since 2016 and has an “excellent safety record,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Squalene could also lower the amount of vaccine ingredients needed for each person, meaning more could be produced with less.
[...] “Using sharks in COVID-19 vaccines is short-sighted, unpredictable, and unsustainable. There are better alternatives,” Shark Allies wrote in an online petition with more than 13,000 signatures by Monday afternoon. “From a conservation perspective, there is no doubt that the overexploitation of a key component of the marine environment will have dire consequences. On a practical level, using such a finite resource for a product that will have to be made for billions of people, continuously for years to come, is impractical.”
About 3 million sharks are killed each year for their squalene, according to the nonprofit. Depending on the dosage, about 22,000 sharks could be killed to supply the U.S. with COVID-19 vaccines, although it’s unlikely every American will receive one.
You have to wonder what the knock-on effects of removing such vast numbers of an apex predator from our marine food chains would be.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:00AM (2 children)
If he wins the election [theguardian.com], this could be bad. Entertaining, but bad.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:08AM (1 child)
Shark Lives Matter! Humans are so devoid of empathy!
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday October 07 2020, @10:08AM
You're probably being ironic but it's 100% correct. They're better at exhibiting conditional empathy--the amount of empathy (including whether there's any at all) is conditional on whether the being belongs to their in-group or not.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:14AM (4 children)
When I first read this story, I thought something like "A shame they're going to kill a bunch of sharks". A thought even went through my mind, that many people aren't worthy of the shark's sacrifices.
It seems someone else had those thoughts, and took them far more seriously.
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-shark-free-covid-vaccine-petition-gains.html [phys.org]
Maybe the sharks can just go on strike, and stop producing squaline?
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:38AM (3 children)
I think the sharks should come to the negotiating table and say for every shark sacrificed, they get to eat a human. Fair's fair, right? Better if they unionize first, too.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:54AM
Only 1 for 1? If I were a shark, I'd be looking for at least 10 for 1. There are BILLIONS of humans, after all!
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @06:11AM
It is their fault they are not on top. They should have pulled themselves up by their finstraps.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Wednesday October 07 2020, @06:33AM
Fair Dinkum! We'd come up on top in Australia - including past numbers of course.
This is a sustainable win-win arrangement for all parties in Oz then as we got a never ending supply of idiots that go into the water to feed the sharks every day.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:21AM
Back to the drawing board. No vaccine for you!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:25AM (3 children)
Why hasn't some lab taught e coli to make squalene? Seems like e coli makes everything else.
C'mon folks, you are laying down on the job.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by acid andy on Wednesday October 07 2020, @10:49AM (2 children)
They're only bountiful for a while, until they've (nearly) all been slaughtered.
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(Score: 3, Insightful) by legont on Wednesday October 07 2020, @02:09PM (1 child)
Given the margin drug companies get, this is pure psychopathy.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @02:52PM
> ...pure psychopathy.
Capitalism works that way, unless there is reasonable regulation.
(Score: 2) by Kitsune008 on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:40AM (1 child)
Does this mean an oversupply of frikkin' lazers?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday October 07 2020, @02:53PM
It means an under supply. Sudden huge demand for lasers to kill the sharks for vaccine production. Results in sudden manufacturing demand for more lasers.
Due to poor national leadership, the country has not gotten its industrial base ready for the sudden laser manufacturing need.
Why is it so difficult to break a heroine addiction?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:46AM (5 children)
Can't someone come up with a way to make a vaccine from politicians?
(Score: 3, Funny) by Kell on Wednesday October 07 2020, @05:36AM (1 child)
No, no - everyone knows you get antibiotics from politicians, vaccines from sharks; and analgesics from plants. This is grade-school science, try to keep up!
Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @12:57PM
"you get antibiotics from politicians"
No, I get headaches from politicians which drives me to use the analgesics from plants making the pharmaceutical industry rich. See, it's a win win for the politicians and the pharmaceutical industry and they work together to make it happen.
(Score: 4, Funny) by sjames on Wednesday October 07 2020, @06:17AM
Shark livers is one thing, but if you use politicians you'll never overcome the ick factor. Distilled urine would be a much easier sell.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Wednesday October 07 2020, @06:36AM
We already can, shark farm, shark food. Guess where the shark food comes from?
There's the concept, now let market sort it out. If it doesn't happen then we know there's more love than hate for the politicos, despite us bitching about them all the time.
(Score: 2) by stormreaver on Wednesday October 07 2020, @11:25AM
We can, but functioning brain cells in humans are in short supply.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday October 07 2020, @10:39AM
If you don't like this, sign the petition.
https://www.change.org/p/us-fda-food-and-drug-administration-of-the-united-states-of-america-stop-using-sharks-in-covid-19-vaccine-use-existing-sustainable-options [change.org]
I'm almost certain the US government and the pharmaceutical industry will ignore it but it's still important to let them know how people feel about it.
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(Score: 1) by oumuamua on Wednesday October 07 2020, @01:17PM (2 children)
We humans have used and abused you for decades, often harvesting just a shark fin and leaving the shark to die a slow painful death.
But now HUMANS are in a great time of need! We REALLY your help to stop a ravaging virus!
Here is the deal, If you help us out we will leave you in peace from now on.
-Earth's HUMANS
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday October 07 2020, @01:47PM (1 child)
I'm sure that'd work just as well as every other treaty ever made between Westerners and less powerful neighbors in times of trouble - i.e. it gets violated the moment the trouble has passed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 07 2020, @02:24PM
Shark-fin isn't really a "Western" food.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hendrikboom on Wednesday October 07 2020, @04:33PM (3 children)
So ... 3 million sharks are killed annually anyway.
Now, for the covid-19 vaccine, we'll kill another half million sharks.
About an 16% increase?
Doesn't look like an extinction-level event.
Most likely the fish sharks eat will end up with increased population -- until a reduction in sharks starving to death restores the balance.
-- hendrik
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Wednesday October 07 2020, @07:24PM (1 child)
It depends for how many years they would keep manufacturing a COVID vaccine. Also I think it depends what species of shark would be hunted for this as I think some species are on the way to extinction.
Which will reduce the populations of whatever they eat.
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(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday October 08 2020, @02:50AM
Or maybe provide a bounty for commercial fisheries, thus feeding the extra humans who might not have lived had we not killed a few extra sharks.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 08 2020, @03:38PM
We are driving tens and hundreds of thousands of species to extinction every year... How do you figure no extinction event? Humanity IS an extinction event.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by pD-brane on Friday October 09 2020, @11:39AM
In some adjuvants aluminium compounds are used as a stimulant. The problem with this is that your body cannot easily excrete this substance and it builds up on your synapses causing Alzheimer's (see last ~8 yr of publications in medical journals). It would not be a good thing if Al-based adjuvants would get in larger use; though I don't know if this is a plausible scenario.
The petition urges to replace "shark squalene with non-animal squalene", so this is fine. The Al-health issue is a different, but important, issue. Maybe insisting on plant-based stimulants would be most ideal; there are apparently enough such options.
As a consumer I found it difficult to find out what is exactly in the vaccine. When asking about the adjuvant's ingredients I get a glazy stare from the nurse, but I may just have had bad luck.