Some Dog Owners Also Wary of Vaccines
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The controversy over vaccines has also affected the animal world.
As New York Magazine reports, vets report that a growing number of pet owners are eschewing shots for their dogs, with veterinarian blogger Brennan McKenzie suggesting that “an increase in mostly unfounded concerns about vaccine safety for people…has raised people’s awareness and level of concern about vaccinations for their pets.”
Unlike human vaccines, there are virtually no official records kept about any uptick or decline in animal vaccinations.
However, Christopher Brockett, president of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, told New York Magazine, “The fewer animals that are getting the vaccine, the greater the likelihood that you’re going to have a firestorm if something that is that highly communicable comes along.”
Yet, pet owners may have some justification to be wary about vaccines due to combination shots, sometimes called “mumbo jumbos,” that can expose a dog to allergies, skin diseases and autoimmune diseases. Annual rabies shots, on the other hand, don’t carry the same risk.
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