here is what I found......
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Hi,
I was wondering if we could discuss dog vaccinations and protocols (in particular Dr. Jean Dodds’ vaccine protocols). This is an area that is of particular interest to me.
New York State accepts 3-year rabies vaccinations. Why do some vet offices in NYS still give 1-year rabies vaccinations and not 3-year vaccinations? And why do some vet offices require dogs to be revaccinated with a 1-year rabies vaccination if they are already current with a 3-year rabies vaccination? This doesn’t make any sense to me.
Aren’t 3-year rabies vaccinations better than 1-year vaccinations since the effects of overvaccination are much decreased? And since all veterinary schools accept Jean Dodds’ limited vaccination protocol shouldn’t all vet offices stop using 1-year rabies vaccinations in favor of the 3-year rabies vaccination?
Thank you for your thoughts on this important topic!
Lindsay Dowling
Comment by Lindsay Dowling — September 29, 2009 @ 9:36 am
Hi Lindsay,
Excellent Questions!
There are a lot of different opinions in the veterinary community abuot vaccine protocols. But one area that everyone is in agreement is that a practice’s vaccination protocol should be based on their specific locale, state requirements, and their patient’s lifestyle.
In New York State ensuring that your pet’s Rabies vaccination status is current is THE LAW. There are not any conclusive studies to suggest that giving a pet a 1 year Rabies vaccine as opposed to a 3 year Rabies vaccine has any negative effect on a pet. However, with a 3 year Rabies vaccine (specifically in cats), there is an increased chance of developing sarcomas, a malignant type of cancer.
The 3 year Rabies vaccination is only current for 3 years IF your pet has been vaccinated with it TWO times at 1 year intervals. Because of this, many veterinarians when seeing a new client whom does not present paperwork from a licensed veterinarian indicating that the 3 year Rabies vaccine was given twice, will accept the vaccine as only a 1 year vaccine. In particular, at Central Veterinary Associates, P.C. that would be our protocol. Our priority and our company policy is to ensure that all pets are protected against Rabies for our patient’s protection, our client’s protection, as well as our staff’s who are handling the pets.
As mentioned earlier, there is not any conclusive evidence indicating that a 3 year Rabies vaccination is better than a 1 year Rabies vaccination. In addition, there is not any conclusive evidence that Dr. Jean Dodd’s vaccine protocol is better than anyone elses. (FYI: Veterinary schools have not adopted Dodd’s protocols.) When a practice or area that has tried to spread vaccinations out over a longer period of time experiences an outbreak of a particular disease, the recommendation is to revaccinate any pet that hasn’t been vaccinated in over a year. So which is better? Spread them out longer and see if an outbreak occurs (risking both animals and humans as some of these vaccines protect public health) or vaccinate yearly which has proven over the years to provide pets and the public with protection that has minimal risks to the patient.
I hope this helps. Thanks for your interest and participation! If you have further questions don’t hesitate to ask and expect a new blog entry centered on Dr. Jean Dodd’s protocols in the near future.
Aaron Vine, DVM
Comment by admin — October 7, 2009 @ 10:30 pm