More dog owners are questioning vaccines like rabies after COVID
More dog owners are questioning vaccines like rabies after COVID
Vaccine skepticism has spread to our pets.
More than half of U.S. dog owners expressed concerns about vaccinating their dogs, including against rabies, according to a new study published Saturday in the journal Vaccine. The study comes as anti-vaccine sentiments among humans have exploded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pets are now often considered to be a member of the family, and their health-care decisions are weighed with the same gravity. But the consequences of not vaccinating animals can be just as dire as humans. Dogs, for example, are responsible for 99% of rabies cases globally. Rabies, which is often transmitted via a bite, is almost always fatal for animals and people once clinical signs appear. A drop in rabies vaccination could constitute a serious public health threat.
In the new study, the authors surveyed 2,200 people and found 53% had some concern about the safety, efficacy or necessity of canine vaccines. Nearly 40% were concerned that vaccines could cause dogs to develop autism, a theory without any scientific merit.
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I'd be surprised if 40% of the dogs I've met weren't already autistic.
Regardless, maybe we can redirect any newly-available resources from this to getting a rabies vaccine for humans?
Isn't there a rabies vaccine for humans? It's given asap if it's suspected that you've been bitten by an infected animal. It's generally only given preventatively to people who are at high risk. I don't know why that is.
Probably because the risks don't outweigh the rewards.
I'd also like a Lyme vaccine, as long as it's my turn with the magic wand.
And that tick that makes you allergic to meat. I would very much like a vaccine for that.
You can get it if you want: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/rabies.html