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Originally Posted by ladyjane  Vaccines and titers are not done for vets to make money.  These illnesses are very real and a threat just like human illnesses are a threat and require immunization. There are some vets who may do it for money...to keep people coming in, but we all need to seek out those vets who are in the business for all of the right reasons.
As for the rabies thing, you are lucky you don't live in an area that requires them every year! It varies from state to state and also town to town. |
I absolutely believe any vet who is doing YEARLY vaccines is in it for the money OR is simply ignorant to the newest research and science. I do think initial vaccines are important, of course. But I know I haven't gotten any vaccines since I was a child.... most humans don't get vaccines every year.
Not talking about rabies. While I think every 3 years is still too much, I would never skip it (due to the reasons Ellie May stated). I still don't understand why you would have to give rabies every 3 years. Boosters don't really booster anything. You are either immune or you aren't. You'd think 5 years would be sufficient.
But in regards to other vaccines - I just totally don't buy that dogs need vaccines every year or even every 3 years. Vaccines make vets offices
a lot of money and I definitely believe they don't want to stop that income from coming in. If they told people dogs didn't need vaccines every year, or 3 years, you do wonder how often people would bring their dogs in. I know some people who just think it's a normal part of owning a dog - they don't think twice: "dogs need shots every year". I wonder if those dogs would even see the vet yearly if they didn't, ya know. So in that sense, yes, maybe the vets are just trying to get people in.
But recommending or giving yearly vaccines is just WRONG, IMO. I would never ever support or respect or recommend a vet who does them.
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Consider this… One dose of rabies vaccine costs the vet about 61 cents. The client is typically charged between $15 and $38, plus a $35 office visit. The markup on the vaccine alone is 2,400 percent to 6,200 percent—a markup equivalent to charging $217 for a loaf of bread. According to one estimate, removing the one-year rabies vaccination and consequential office visit for dogs alone would decrease the average small vet’s income from $87,000 to $25,000—and this doesn’t include cats or other vaccinations.
According to James Schwartz, author of Trust Me, I’m Not a Veterinarian, 63 percent of canine and 70 percent of feline vet office visits are for vaccinations. Clearly, radically changing the vaccine schedule for dogs and cats would result in a huge economic loss for any veterinary practice that is built around shots. And chances are the vaccines you are paying so much for are creating even more income for vets, because the adverse reactions and other medical issues caused by the vaccines keep Fluffy coming back often!
Veterinary vaccine sales amounted to more than $3.2 million in 2004 and have risen 7 percent per year since 2000. This figure is projected to exceed $4 billion in 2009. Six companies account for more than 70percent of world veterinary vaccine sales. The market leader is Intervet, with sales of almost $600 million in 2004. That’s a whole lot of 61-cent vaccines. The United States has by far the largest share of the national market with revenues of $935 million, and Japan comes in second with $236 million.
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Pet vaccination warning. Severe adverse reaction to immunization