Just had a thought based on something someone said on social media. When developing a hypothetical bird flu vaccine, would they need to make a different one for each species? Or would the same vaccine work on all/most birds? Just wondering about the future prospects of getting my cockatoo vaccinated (so I can take her outside and fly her a bit again). Doubt any pharmaceutical company would spend billions on creating a vaccine for the goffin cockatoo specifically. 146.90.140.99 (talk) 22:39, 18 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Like the human immune system, the avian immune system builds up immunity by recognizing threats, and the effectiveness of a vaccine is based on its mimicking a recognizable aspect of some pathogen. It is therefore plausible that the vaccine will be effective across species, but the dosage may vary.  ​‑‑Lambiam 07:42, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As a matter of interest, would a vaccine intended for dogs or cows work on humans too? 146.90.140.99 (talk) 09:55, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Few things are as irresponsible as medical guarantees given by unqualified strangers om social media. As a matter of Wikipedia policy about human medical advice this discussion should STOP here. Philvoids (talk) 10:49, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry. I didn't know asking that was against the rules. I wasn't trying to troll or anything. I have no intention of trying to vaccinate myself with a dog (or cow) vaccine. I was legitimately curious about it, is all. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.90.140.99 (talk) 18:00, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It was not against the rules. I have reverted the inappropriate closure. --Trovatore (talk) 17:02, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If the need arises to have a vaccine for vaccinating humans to protect them against a given pathogen, and one has already been developed and found effective for veterinary use, it will be an obvious candidate for consideration for starting trials for human use. It would be medically unethical to prescribe it for human use without such trials, properly conducted and evaluated. An exception might be a dire emergency, but since vaccines are a form of prophylaxis, it is hard to imagine circumstances that meet the criterion of being an emergency.  ​‑‑Lambiam 13:11, 20 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Well, the authorization to use the covid vaccine in the United States, without the full FDA approval process, was at least called an Emergency Use Authorization. --Trovatore (talk) 17:05, 26 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]