Shark conservation risks associated with the use of shark liver oil in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic may create new demand for wildlife-generated products for human health, including a shark-derived ingredient used in some vaccines. Adjuvants are a vaccine component that increases efficacy, and some adjuvants contain squalene, a natural compound derived from shark liver oil which is found most abundantly in deep-sea sharks. In recent decades, there has been growing conservation concern associated with the sustainability of many shark fisheries. The need for a potentially massive number of adjuvant-containing SARS-CoV-2 vaccines may increase global demand for shark-derived squalene, with possible consequences for shark conservation, especially of vulnerable and understudied deep-sea species. A shift to non-animal-derived sources of squalene, which are similar in cost and identical in effectiveness, or an emphasis on increasing traceability and sustainability of shark-derived squalene from existing well-managed fisheries, could better support conservation and public health goals.

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  1. SciScore for 10.1101/2020.10.14.338053: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    No key resources detected.


    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).


    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.


    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.


    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.


    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No funding statement was detected.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.