Dogs are the most popular pets in the United States, with about forty percent of households having at least one. Many veterinarians report that they are seeing more dog owners refusing to vaccinate their pets because of the public debate and politicization of COVID vaccines and pandemic mandates. A recent study in the journal ‘Vaccine’ supports their observations that vaccine hesitancy has spread to pet owners.

The study surveyed a nationally representative sample of adults and identified more than 900 dog owners. The researchers found that 48 percent of the owners felt the decision to vaccinate dogs against rabies should be left up to individual pet owners, while the rest felt the decision should be left to veterinarians following procedures laid out by state laws. They also found that 30 percent of owners felt most vaccines given to dogs are not medically necessary, and 22 percent felt the risk of vaccine side effects outweigh the benefits. Thirty-seven percent believed that vaccines could cause issues like dog autism.

Vaccine Smarts is written by Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences faculty members Drs. Megan Berman, an associate professor of internal medicine, and Richard Rupp, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch. For questions about vaccines, email vaccine.smarts@utmb.edu.

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