Author: Dr. Andrew Jones, DVM
If you are like most pet owners today, you are probably finding
the whole issue of pet vaccines more and more confusing. You have your
conventional veterinarian telling you that "as a responsible pet owner,
you should follow my advice and vaccinate your pet annually" with
annual booster shots. And then you've heard the horror stories about
cats who develop cancer at the site of vaccine injections, and numerous
other stories about adverse vaccine reactions in both cats and dogs.
Are we vaccinating our pets too often, with too many vaccines? Are
veterinarians really doing what is best for our pets, or is this all
about the 'bottom line'?
There are many, often contradictory, points of view. Veterinarians in
general are telling pet owners to vaccinate yearly, that vaccines do
not harm your pets... and many approach vaccines casually: "at worst,
they won't cause any harm". The evidence, along with the experience of
many individual veterinarians and alternative pet health practitioners,
definitely suggests otherwise.
Why are we vaccinating our pets?
Why we vaccinate in the first place, and a basic understanding of
vaccines, is important. The reason we give our pets vaccines is to
protect them against infectious disease. When a vaccine is
administered, it stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies
("Opposite Invaders"). The new antibody is produced just for the virus
we have vaccinated for. Then if your dog or cat is exposed to the
actual virus later on, he or she will be able to respond to the disease
quickly and produce antibodies to overcome the disease before it takes
hold in your pet's system.
Theoretically, vaccines sound fantastic, since they can protect our
pets from devastating diseases such as parvovirus or rabies. And in
truth, vaccines have saved countless lives. If that is the case, why do
we need to be cautious?
The drawbacks of vaccines
We simply need to open our eyes to see the evidence. With current
medical advancements we've made, our pets should be healthier than
ever. But in reality, our pets are sicker than they have ever been.
It's common to see cancer in cats and dogs at less than 5 years of age.
Diseases including skin cancer, immune mediated skin disease, immune
mediated hemolytic anemia, leukemia, allergies, arthritis, neurological
conditions, and inflammatory bowel disease are just a few of the
diseases that seem to have a link to over-vaccination. There are links
to many common chronic pet health diseases because of over-vaccination.
The belief behind this is that when we vaccinate, the immune system can
become 'over-taxed' and may respond inappropriately, especially when
multiple vaccines are given at once. Many pet owners see adverse
reactions immediately after their pet has been vaccinated, including
vomiting, diarrhea, and abscesses at the site of the vaccine injection.
In others, it shows up later, in the form of a multitude of various
diseases. One study has shown that the more vaccines given at once, the
higher the risk of developing sarcoma (soft-tissue cancer) - up to
approximately a 175% increase if administered in the same location.
While over-vaccination may not be the sole reason we have so many sick
pets today, it is definitely a major factor. Other reasons include low
quality food, environmental toxins, and genetic deterioration due to
poor quality breeding. The combination of these factors is leaving each
generation more and more susceptible to disorders and chronic disease.
Regardless, we are vaccinating our pets too often for more diseases
than they truthfully need.
Reasons for over-vaccination
The reasons are manifold, from the original belief that "at worst
vaccines will not cause any harm", to the bottom line of both the
companies that produce the vaccines and veterinarians themselves. Most
veterinarians just choose to ignore the current research because they
still feel the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risk, or because they
rely on the 'annual booster shot' as a major source of income.
At this point you're probably wondering if you should vaccinate your
pets at all, if the risks of vaccines are so high. In most cases, you
should, but not as often and with not as many types of vaccines as
you've currently been doing. There are alternatives, but unless you are
willing to make changes in you're pet's care and what risks you are
willing to bear for your pet, I still advise a limited vaccine
schedule. Stayed tuned for Part 2 of this series, where I'll provide my
current recommended vaccine schedule and discuss a few alternatives to
vaccines.
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