More than half of U.S. dog owners expressed concerns about vaccinating their dogs, including against rabies, according to a new study published Saturday in the journal Vaccine. The study comes as anti-vaccine sentiments among humans have exploded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pets are now often considered to be a member of the family, and their health-care decisions are weighed with the same gravity. But the consequences of not vaccinating animals can be just as dire as humans. Dogs, for example, are responsible for 99% of rabies cases globally. Rabies, which is often transmitted via a bite, is almost always fatal for animals and people once clinical signs appear. A drop in rabies vaccination could constitute a serious public health threat.
In the new study, the authors surveyed 2,200 people and found 53% had some concern about the safety, efficacy or necessity of canine vaccines. Nearly 40% were concerned that vaccines could cause dogs to develop autism, a theory without any scientific merit.
Smallpox can never return. It is gone forever
It’s extinct in the wild. It’s still frozen in labs, and the soviet union made it in vast quantities before falling apart. There’s also samples sitting around that are occasionally found.
It’s not completely gone. That’s why they still vaccinate you for it when you join the military.
A simple search would tell you that there is a great deal of controversy over the fact that this virus is not gone forever.
Try to be better and not amplify false statements.
I don’t think that anyone plans on releasing smallpox from labs. That wouldn’t benefit anyone.
Who said anything about planning?
Oh, hello! It must be your first time coming to Earth and meeting humanity.