If any of you are wondering why you haven't heard about the long-term durations of immunity for the canine vaccines or their potential adverse reactions from your veterinarian, you should be aware of the significant link between vaccines and veterinary income. I cannot emphasis enough how important it is for you to do your homework before you give your Yorkie a vaccination.

Veterinary trade publications have frankly addressed the issue of the link between vaccines and income.

A related story Improving Veterinarians' Income a Top Goal of AVMA President-elect candidate Childers. can be found at http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/mar04/040315g.asp.

In an August 2004 cover story in Veterinary Economics entitled Targeting Changing Vaccine Protocols by Roger F. Cummings, they state that: "In the 1970s and ’80s many veterinarians derived a substantial percent of their total incomes from vaccinating dogs and cats. .....And in many practices today, the vaccination reminder is the one thing that drives visits from healthy pets. So changing your vaccine protocols could have a significant affect on practice finances."

Dr. Alice Wolf, Professor of Small Animal Internal Medicine at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, stated in an address (Vaccines of the Present and Future http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00141.htm) at the 2001 World Small Animal Veterinary Association World Congress that: “some veterinarians use the recommendation for vaccinations as a way to ensure client visits for yearly examinations and, least appropriate, as a ‘profit center.’”

In an October 1, 2002 DVM Newsletter article entitled, AVMA, AAHA to Release Vaccine Positions, http://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/dvm/a...l.jsp?id=35171, Jennifer Fiala reports, "The statement stresses AVMA's stance on education, a reduction in the profession's dependence on vaccine sales, which account for a significant portion of practice income, ..........Veterinarians must promote the value of the exam and move away from their dependence on vaccine income. "

DVM's July 1, 2003 article, Developing Common Sense Strategies for Fiscal Responsibility http://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/dvm/a...l.jsp?id=61694 declares that, "The purpose of this article is to focus on the third of these essential cornerstones: the economic realities of protocol changes, and how medical and surgical standards including reduced frequency of vaccination can be compatible with financial viability; and, yes, even success. ........For a real eye-opener of potential revenue loss, research practice records for the most recent 12 months of client activity to determine the estimated number of adult canine patients that were seen for annual vaccinations. Multiply this number times the revenue loss calculated above on an individual patient basis to determine the total potential lost income. "

From a July 1, 2003 DVM article entitled, What Do We Tell Our Clients? , http://www.dvmnewsmagazine.com/dvm/a...l.jsp?id=61696, "It has finally happened. The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has released canine vaccine guidelines. Some practitioners may dread it and consider the recommendations as a 'practice buster.' ......The concern of course is the loss of our 'vaccine hook.' "

On Page 18 of the American Animal Hospital Association's 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, the task force declares: "However, the ethical issue that our profession struggles with today is whether economics justifies giving an animal a drug (vaccines are biologic drugs) that is not necessarily required. As a minimum, we should allow pet owners to make this choice rather than make it for them."

Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines: What We Know and Don't Know, Dr. Ronald Schultz http://www.cedarbayvet.com/duration_of_immunity.htm

World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2007 Vaccine Guidelines http://www.wsava.org/SAC.htm Scroll down to Vaccine Guidelines 2007 (PDF)

The 2003 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines are accessible online at http://www.leerburg.com/special_report.htm .

The 2006 American Animal Hospital Association's Canine Vaccine Guidelines are downloadable in PDF format at http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocumen...s06Revised.pdf .

Veterinarian, Dr. Robert Rogers,has an excellent presentation on veterinary vaccines at http://www.newvaccinationprotocols.com/