The anti-vaccination movement has gained steam in the last decade, but that fear around inoculation isn't just among humans. A new study published in the Vaccine journal found that a majority of dog owners are skeptical of immunizing their furry friends.
The study surveyed 2,200 people and their opinions on routine vaccinations given to pet dogs, specifically the rabies shot. 37 percent of respondents believe canine vaccination is unsafe, 22 percent feel it's ineffective, and 30 percent find it unnecessary. As a whole, 53 percent of dog parents hold at least one of these beliefs.
“We were pretty surprised because we knew that this phenomenon would exist, anecdotally we had good reason to believe that it was, but we were pretty stunned,” study co-author Matt Motta told USA Today. “The sheer volume of people who hold these opinions was quite striking…That, to me, is pretty alarming.”
As for why people might hold these beliefs when it comes to their dogs, the study found that common vaccine myths for humans are being applied to man's best friend. Nearly 40 percent of respondents in the study were concerned that vaccines could cause their fur baby to develop autism.
"I believe the COVID-19 vaccine has fundamentally changed the way that Americans view vaccination in general,” Motta admitted. "I think alarmingly that could be spilling over to shape how people feel about attitude toward vaccinating their pets and frankly, who knows what else? You know, it could go even further."
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As with long-eradicated diseases like measles and polio, the reason dog owners don't usually hear about rabies cases is because of widespread vaccination across canine populations—and, of course, laws mandating that dog owners give their pet the shot.
"The solution, I think, is that we need to restore Americans’ trust in vaccines and the people who produce them and then the people who administer them," Motta said. "We need to increase Americans' trust in science and vaccine science. That's a relatively simple thing to say, right? But how is it that we actually do it?"
“We're a nation of vaccine skeptics to some degree," he acknowledged, "but we're all vaccine-skeptical for different reasons. We need a patchwork of communication, efforts to understand the many reasons why people are vaccine-hesitant and then appeal to each one in a targeted way."
“If we can make more trust in human vaccines, I think we can restore trust in canine vaccines too."
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/BuqomZD
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