COVID Outbreak Discovered in Oregon Minks
The Claim
In the United States, some minks were found to have a new strain of COVID-19.
News posted on
Emerging story
In late November 2020, news sites and social media users shared the claim, expressing concern over the spread of COVID-19 to U.S. mink farms.
Misbar’s Analysis
At the beginning of November, it was discovered that minks in Denmark were infected with coronavirus. It was subsequently found that this was a new mutation of COVID-19. This mutation could reduce the efficacy of the upcoming vaccines. In response, Denmark’s government ordered its entire mink population to be culled.
COVID-19 appears to have spread to mink farms in Utah, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Oregon. At this time of writing, the government hasn’t yet responded in any significant capacity.
Misbar’s investigation found that while this development is worrying, it may not be as terrible as it sounds. The transmission rate for mink-to-human infection is pretty low. Moreover, unlike in Denmark, this population of COVID-19 doesn’t seem to have mutated. That means that it isn’t going to reduce the efficacy of new vaccines, which are likely to be employed next year. Moreover, the mink industry in America is miniscule compared to Denmark’s – Denmark produces 17 million pelts a year, while the U.S. only produces 3 million.
As a result of the relatively small amount of risk, neither the U.S. government nor the mink farms intends to cull the population.
