Vaccine Guidelines

New vaccine guidelines have resulted from overwhelming evidence of their potential and real detriment to the health of family pets. If your veterinarian has not read them, perhaps it’s time.

General Guidelines

1. When possible, give individual vaccines, not combinations (some vaccines only come as combinations and there is no option to give separately.) Adjuvants in the combination of different vaccines are highly suspect in vaccine associates sarcoma - injection site cancer. 

2. DO NOT give a vaccination while other procedures are being performed, such as dentistries, surgery, grooming and boarding; these situations are already creating stress to the immune system. It may not be able to cope with the assault  of rabies vaccine, a potent biologic agent.

3. DO NOT vaccinate a sick animal, no matter how mild the illness. Even a mild fever can thwart the action of rabies vaccine leaving the animal (and by extension its human) vulnerable to rabies if exposed.

4. DO NOT vaccinate a pregnant animal

5. Do not vaccinate at too young an age. Maternally transferred antibodies are proved to thwart the effect of rabies vaccine. Since it is impossible to pinpoint the exact moment when a dog or cat's immune system matures, veterinarians recommend a series of two rabies vaccinations, the first at two months, the second a year later. Dr. Jean Dodds, a vaccinology expert, suggests that one rabies inoculation when your dog or cat is 20 weeks or older is equally effective and less risky.

6. Any animals that have acute or chronic diseases should not be vaccinated. This includes animals with disorders such as food allergies, skin allergies, chronic bouts of diarrhea, chronic eye and ear infections and any immune or autoimmune associated disorder.

Recommended Vaccine Protocol

Today veterinary medicine offers as many as 16 new vaccines for dogs and cats. After a landmark study in 2003, the consensus among responsible veterinarians is to individualize the protocol based on the age, health status and proximity of exposure. One size does not fit all. And in general, the fewer the better.

• Vaccines are not harmless. In addition to IMHA and Injection Site Fibrosarcomas, other individual vaccines can cause adverse reactions adverse events and reactions including hypothyroidism HOD and chronic renal failure.
  
• Booster vaccines or annual re-administration of modified live virus vaccines like distemper and parvovirus are not necessary; they do not provide added protection. In previously vaccinated adult animals the antibodies from previous vaccinations block the new vaccine. Antibody levels are not increased, memory cells are not increased.
  
• Booster shots of Canine Distemper and Parvovirus are not necessary. Modified live vaccines for diseases like Parvovirus and Distemper provide lifetime immunity when administered to adult (>6 mo) dogs and cats.
  
• Titers of antibody levels do not accurately predict immunity or lack of immunity.
  
• No scientific data support the manufacturers’ label directions to re-administer MLV vaccines annually.
  
• There is no justification for vaccination of dogs for corona virus.
  
• There is little justification for annual vaccination of adult cats for Feline Leukemia. Cats over one year of age are immune to FeLV whether they are vaccinated or not. This is age related immunity.
  
• The potential side effects outweigh the possible benefits for diseases like Feline Chlamydia, Canine Leptospirosis and Lyme disease.  Moreover, they should not be offered Vaccines in areas of the country where the diseases are very rare. Leptospirosis and Lyme disease are not prevalent in Texas.