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The Labour party is urging Ministers to consider giving the coronavirus vaccine to pets once the human population has been dealt with.

According to ‘experts’ vaccinating cats and dogs may help stop variants developing and spreading.

The Mirror reports: Labour’s Sir Mark Hendrick said: “Covid possibly started in bats. The priority is to vaccinate humans, but a year or so down the line we have to look at animal vaccines.”

And Kevin Tyler, editor of journal Virulence, added: “Mutations could come back into humans looking quite different.

“A substantially different variant could be a problem in the future. The best way to deal with that might be vaccines.”

Animal-to-human transmission is rare – but last July a cat tested positive in the UK after catching the virus from its owner.

The British Veterinary Association recommends owners wash hands after touching pets in case the virus is on their fur.

Russia has developed the first animal-specific jab tested successfully on cats and dogs, and a US firm is also working on one.

Independent SAGE virologist Prof Deenan Pillay said: “It may be the current vaccines would need a tweak for nonhuman species.”