LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The discovery of COVID-19 in deer across Michigan recently has raised a lot of questions, but not many answers. As to why 67% of U.S.D.A.-tested Michigan deer came up positive in a recent COVID-19 survey, the jury’s still out.
30,000,000 white-tailed deer in the U.S. often come into close contact with people. With the hunting season on the way, the U.S. Department of Agriculture advises there’s no evidence you can get COVID-19 from eating or preparing food from infected animals.
Researchers will monitor for the emergence of ‘reservoirs’ of infected animals that could offer refuge for the virus to evolve in ways to threaten the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. For now, the threat in Michigan doesn’t come from deer. COVID-19 is adapted to a home it has already found – and that home is in us.
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