Don’t Take Vaccine Advice From Activists
I am the first person to admit that I do not know how often pets need vaccines. I am not alone this lack of knowledge. Absolutely nobody knows how often pets need vaccines.
I do, however, sometimes feel like I am alone in my willingness to admit that I don’t have all the answers when it comes to animal vaccination. And I frequently bump heads with two groups who claim, wrongly, that they do know how often pets should be vaccinated.
Members of the first group aren’t likely to comment on this blog, but they have plenty of money to throw around. They fund “studies” and publish “scientific papers” to justify their cause. I am referring to vaccine manufacturers. Their conflict of interest is obvious. If they sell more vaccines, they make more money. I am skeptical of what they say, and I urge you to take the same attitude.
The second group uses tactics that are remarkably similar to push for the opposite agenda. This group consists of anti-vaccination activists. Members of this group publish online summaries of data that cherry-pick the scientific literature to focus on and exaggerate the risks of vaccines. They tend to ignore data that contradict their arguments. Like the vaccine manufacturers, their interest is not in true science. They are promoting an agenda. I view everything they say with the same skepticism that I reserve for the companies making vaccines.
The true facts of animal vaccination are incredibly complicated. The details are phenomenally nuanced. Anyone who claims the matter is simple either does not understand the subject or is pushing an agenda.
I urge you not to heed the calls of those who claim that all pets need every vaccine every year. Equally, when someone tells you that pets never need shots, please ingest their comments with several grains of salt.
Do not let your pet fall victim to any group’s agenda.
You have questions. 
It is the same issue with humans, I suppose- and the only clear conclusion is that vaccines are needed.
Even if vaccines do cause whatever evils they are blamed, and sometimes reactions will occur, these are extremely rare, and the benefits far outweigh the risks.
Although I have only been in the veterinary field a couple years, I think I can give you a basic protocol to follow. First it depends on the state you live in. In Massachusetts the rabies vaccine is mandatory in cats and doge regardless of whether they are outside animals or not. As far as the other vaccines are concerned I do believe that every dog and cat should get their first series of vaccines as a puppy or kitten or brand new animal to your family with no vaccine history. The vaccines that you chose to keep up with after that would depend on exposure risks. If your cat never goes outside, then the FIV/FLV vaccines would be useless. If your dog as well is more of an indoor dog and doesn’t drink out of standing pools of water then the Leptospirosis vaccine would seem a waste. You need to gage your lifestyle and that of your animal’s to determine what is needed. I come across so many owners who only want the best for their animals, but are limited to the funds they have available, especially now. I grew up with cats, dogs, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, chickens, and turkeys. With the cats we took them to the vet for their first set of shots and they never went back, nor needed to. We kept them leashed on a run as you would a dog, they went out in the morning and came in in the evening, were never exposed to traffic, wild animals or domestic ones and all lived to be between 18 and 21. The fact that most people just open the door and let their cats go horrifies me. Keep in mind a healthy balanced diet for dogs and cats is important too.
I can’t believe you’ve actually admitted that you don’t know how much vaccination is the right amount of vaccination. Very brave of you.
Everyone else who ever writes on this topic seems to be an expert and yet when I dig a bit deeper into their statements, there’s never any real evidence, other than anecdotal, to back it up.
Unfortunately, the question still remains. So how much is the right amount? Are we going to forever have to use trial and error on our dogs as the only way to find out?
http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/
This study is funded by private donations to get unbiased results on how long the rabies vaccine works. The vaccine manufacturers don’t do studies past 3 years, so we only have a 3 yr rabies vaccine. This study hopes to show that the rabies vaccine works longer than 3 years. They’re in Year 2 now, I think. This study won’t change the laws, but if results are positive, it would go a long way to helping change the laws.
“The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccines. The goal is to extend the required interval for rabies boosters to 5 and then to 7 years. This project depends primarily upon grassroots gifts for funding the costs of conducting the requisite vaccine trials. Our contributions to date have come mostly from kennel clubs and private individuals.”
We have lost two dogs at different times soon after they were given their annual booster vaccination. We had owned both dogs for one year and they fell ill soon after. We think they were vaccinated too soon with a different make to that which they had before they came to us and suffered a severe reaction. Our lurcher was vaccinated just before we collected him by the RSPCA and when I queried them about it a year later, they said “Leave it two years before having them fully vaccinated and they should be OK.” Apparently good advice.
Well I think you are correct that this is a complicated issue, for both humans and animals. And the conclusion is certainly NOT the simple “vaccines are needed”. It really needs to be done on a case to case basis. In terms of my daughter, we have decided not to vaccinate her (Very bad reaction to DPT). Our dogs and cat,who are like children to us, are vaccinated. We are now on a vet recommended three year cycle for rabies. We are very rural, and while they never get out of our site or away from us, there is always a small possibility that they might have contact with the wild life.
In the past, I have lost two beautiful dogs to reactions to annual booster shots. Both were dead within two weeks of having had the shots. I now have my dogs given titer tests to determine if boosters are required. So far, no boosters have been required, as per test results. It costs more to have the titers done, but my dogs are alive…not dead! That is priceless to me.
I have to say something about this. It has been clearly documented that vaccines do have side effects, sometimes they can cause severe side effects up to and including death. This should not be ignored. However, the general consensus among experts today is that some vaccines last several years, rather than one year. This has been proven by subjects who were vaccinated and then each year had titers tests rather than vaccines which showed continued immunity. An increasing number of experts now agree that the Rabies vaccine can last up to 7 years, proving that yearly vaccinations are pointless. They are hoping to change the mentality of those who continue to push yearly vaccinations that are not needed and may prove to be harmful.
Check this link out:
http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/
If you can handle a more technical paper on vaccine duration, check out this one by Ronald Schultz, a respected expert in the field of veterinary pathobiology:
http://www.eskievet.com/Articles/vaccine%20duration.pdf
are certain breeds of dog more vulnerable to adverse reactions than others?
I stopped vaccinating my dogs except for rabbies. I felt this was the way to go with my 3 beautiful rescues. I did this after much research.