BATON ROUGE, La. — LSU's beloved mascot Mike the tiger has joined the ranks of vaccinated Louisianans, school officials announced.
Mike, formally Mike VII, got his first COVID-19 vaccine shot on July 16 and received his second dose on Aug. 6.
LSU said the tiger hasn't had any adverse effects from the specially formulated animal vaccine.
The shots were donated by Zoetis, a drug manufacturer specializing in healthcare products for pets and livestock.
Why give a tiger a COVID vaccine, you might ask. The simple answer: big cats and other large zoo animals appear to be susceptible to the virus as well. But unlike humans, they can't mask up.
In 2020, lions and tigers at the Bronx Zoo were diagnosed with COVID, presumably caught after close contact with an infected zookeeper. Gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have also been infected with the virus.
Because others of his species have shown they can be infected, LSU officials have had to keep Mike distanced from visitors who visit him at the school's tiger habitat. But LSU fans looking to get a closer look will be able to soon, with the barricades going down for the week of Aug. 17 (about two weeks after his second dose).
Unfortunately, many in Louisiana have not yet followed Mike's example. Only 43% of the state's population have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.
Hospitalizations continue a meteoric rise across the state as emergency rooms fill up during the pandemic's fourth wave.
Health experts warn that the best way to mitigate the worst of the fourth wave and stop subsequent waves is vaccination. If mitigation measures aren't taken, crowd-favourite events such as LSU games may be fanless or cancelled altogether.
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