138/Media Report/Annual Vaccine Inoculations for Pets May be Too Frequent

Scientific research indicates that most annual vaccine inoculations for pets are not only unnecessary, but also waste money and can be potentially deadly. Vaccines for the most important pet diseases last three years or longer, and so annual vaccine inoculations are needless, and can even put pets at greater risk of vaccine-related problems.

However, federal authorities do not require vaccine makers to show a vaccine's maximum duration of effectiveness. If you are a pet owner, you and your veterinarian should make the ultimate decision about which vaccines need to be given to your pet(s) and how often they should be administered, according to Dr. Ronald D. Schultz, a veterinary immunologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

For further details, please see the following articles:

1) "Pets Don't Need Shots Every Year" by Leigh Hopper, Houston Chronicle, June 3, 2002, at http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/front/1387004

2) Dog and Cat Vaccinations...Too Many, Too Often?" by Dr. T. J. Dunn, The Internet Animal Hospital, August 26, 2002 at http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/vac.html

3) Veterinarians Urged to Shift Away from Annual, Grouped Vaccinations ?
Adverse Effects Cited, 3/13/2001, School of Veterinary Medicine, at
http://svmweb.vetmed.wisc.edu/VetWeb/DesktopModules/
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