Most US dog owners doubt canine vaccines: study

 The anti-vaccination movement, which intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, appears to also extend to some American dog owners - who are now wary over vaccinating their pets against diseases such as rabies and canine hepatitis.

That's according to a recent poll by Boston University's School of Public Health, which found that 53% of dog owners display some degree of what it calls "Canine Vaccination Hesitancy."

Doctor Matt Motta is an assistant professor at the college and author of the study.

"You know, my co-authors and I were stunned by how prevalent this phenomenon is."

"If there are more unvaccinated dogs out there, the risk of disease transmission grows. And likewise for veterinarian professionals like my sister, for all of us who make come into contact with unvaccinated pets, we are potentially at risk of getting sick if there are more unvaccinated dogs out there."

Polling found that 37% of respondents believe dog vaccines are unsafe, 22% believe they're ineffective, and 30% believe they're not necessary.

Many states require at least a rabies vaccine by law. California is one of them.

Doctor Todd Calsyn is a veterinarian at Laurel Pet Hospital in West Hollywood.

"When I first read the article, I was surprised it was that high now but that makes sense to me based on what I'm kind of seeing coming through here."

"So like for instance, the rabies, obviously if you get rabies, if you don't get treated right away or whatever, you die. It affects your brain. Parvo and distemper, for sure, can be fatal. They can be treated, we can save them but some animals have neurologic disease afterward and some don't do well."

The study was conducted online in partnership with the polling agency YouGov using 2,200 dog owners, and was weighted to approximate the country's demographics.

https://news.yahoo.com/most-us-dog-owners-doubt-175314765.html