Are We Overvaccinating Our Pets?

Catherine Diodati

Vaccination is the mainstay of any veterinary practice. They ensure that your pet will go the office and receive a yearly examination — but what if the vaccination aspect was excluded? More and more, veterinarians and pet lovers alike are questioning the wisdom of annual vaccination, and for very good reason. In some cases, the vaccines are unnecessary, downright dangerous, or utterly useless. How can pet owners decide?

To begin, rabies vaccines are the only ones required by law and even that depends entirely on the legislation where you live. Depending upon the vaccine used, revaccination may be recommended every 1-3 years. The rabies vaccine, like all other pet vaccines, have been so poorly tested for duration of immunity that no one really knows for sure how long immunity (if it is conferred by the vaccine) will last. Typically, laboratory animals are destroyed at the end of a prescribed study period so no tests are done to actually determine the maximum length of immunity. If the laboratory animals are allowed to live for a year, then the duration of immunity is said to be 1-year and revaccination for all animals is recommended annually. This is important because we are over-vaccinating our pets, unnecessarily exposing them to important health risks, based upon arbitrary vaccination recommendations derived from poor science.

There is good news on the horizon, however, as some veterinary immunologists are having a closer look at the arbitrary vaccination schedules and conducting their own tests. Dr. Ronald Schultz, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, discovered that various core canine vaccines endure from 3-15 years, depending upon the vaccine, and that annual vaccination not only provides no benefit but also increases the risk of adverse reactions. The same, of course, holds true for feline vaccines. This emerging evidence of extended immunity has prompted many veterinarians and veterinary universities to alter their vaccination protocols to prevent unnecessary harm to their four-legged patients.

Veterinary vaccines carry the same health risks as human vaccines. Animals can experience vaccine-induced anaphylactic shock, allergies, seizures, arthritis, diabetes, hypothyroidism, a variety of autoimmune disorders, digestive problems, behavioural changes, encephalitis, cancer, physical wasting and a host of other serious, even fatal, adverse reactions. Often, pet owners observe a cascade effect following vaccination because their pet’s immune system becomes compromised. Their pets will have recurrent infections, or mysterious illnesses, and never be completely well. Additionally, the rabies, feline leukemia, and feline respiratory vaccines are well known to cause large tumours, exceeding the boundaries of skin and fur, that persistently return following surgical removal. The torment the pets endure, and the incredible costs associated with treatment, evoke valid questions about whether the risks associated with vaccination can be justified by any proposed benefits.

Veterinary vaccines have been known to cause the very diseases they are designed to prevent. The Lyme disease vaccine is a stellar example. It has caused both Lyme disease, and its associated arthritis, even in animals living in regions where there are no ticks around to cause the disease. In one household, the feline chlamydiosis vaccine caused the disease in the vaccinated kitten, which then spread to another unvaccinated kitten, and then to their owner who had to endure a lengthy course of antibiotic treatment. The rabies vaccine can cause rabies, either temporarily or permanently. Yogi, a 12 year old male Lab-Boxer mix, for example, began wasting, foamed at the mouth, would lurch out, lost control of his bladder and kidney function, and became paralyzed following his rabies vaccine. Many previously friendly animals become frightened, aggressive, confused, and will hallucinate following rabies vaccination. Vaccines can, and do, cause the very diseases they are meant to prevent.

With the risks imposed by vaccines, both in terms of adverse reactions and vaccine-induced disease, can vaccines be justified by their ability to prevent diseases? This question must be answered by looking at how effective the vaccines are to address the disease, which diseases your pet will actually come into contact with, and what treatments are available should your pet require them.

Relying on vaccines to prevent disease is of questionable value. Many vaccines are not as effective as we might think. The new feline ringworm vaccine, for example, cannot prevent ringworm but it may cause cancer. Most feline vaccines, in fact, are only occasionally effective. Some, like the infectious peritonitis vaccine, increases the frequency and severity of the disease. The efficacy of canine vaccines is similarly variable. For example, the bacterial subgroups found in the current leptospirosis vaccines do not match those to which dogs may be exposed — so the vaccine is hardly useful. The kennel cough vaccine often causes respiratory illnesses in dogs. Canine coronavirus is such a mild and extremely rare disease that the existence of a vaccine makes no sense whatsoever. No vaccine is 100% effective and, in some cases, the vaccines are extremely ineffective.

Your veterinarian should be able to advise you regarding which diseases are prevalent in your area and how effective available treatments are. Your pet’s environment and lifestyle will influence the actual chance of exposure. Animals that roam freely, having contact with wild animals, are certainly at greater risk of exposure than a pet confined to a yard. Disease risks to the single indoor cat are relatively non-existent. Environment and lifestyle are indeed important considerations.

When should you avoid vaccination? Vaccines should never be administered to an ill pet, no matter how minor the illness appears, or to one that has had recent surgery. The immune system is already facing a challenge and does not need the additional burden. The same applies to a pet exposed to any medication or pesticide. Prior vaccine reactions must be considered a forewarning of potentially more severe reactions to revaccination. Pets under stress, such as overcrowding, inadequate nutrition or hygiene, are at increased risk of a vaccine reaction. Vaccination should also be avoided during estrus, pregnancy, and lactation due to increased risks of reactions and vaccine-induced disease.

When making a decision on whether or not to vaccinate, or which vaccines to select, it is always better to become informed before the vaccination appointment so you will have time to consider what will be best for your pet. Just because a vaccine exists does not mean that it is safe or effective or will benefit your pet. Consider consulting a holistic veterinarian to discuss alternatives to vaccination. Homeopathy offers preventive nosodes against disease and can also provide the most effective treatment for vaccine injuries.

Catherine J. M. Diodati, M.A. began researching vaccines 18 years ago when her daughter suffered a vaccine-induced coma. Catherine is considered one of the leading experts in the field of biomedical ethics of vaccination. She can be reached at diodati@mnsi.net.  She is the author of Immunization: History, Ethics, Law and Health and Vaccine Guide for Dogs & Cats: What Every Pet Lover Should Know, which can be ordered through Naturalanimal at info@naturalanimal.ca.