When Sylvalyn Hammond began practicing veterinary medicine in 2018, she rarely encountered pet owners who wanted to skip their dog's vaccinations. The first time it happened, “I almost thought they were joking,” she recalls. “I was so shocked that I thought I might have laughed.”
Now, just a few years later, Hammond addresses anti-vaccine sentiment at least several times a week in his office in Charleston, South Carolina. “We're seeing vaccine hesitancy among pet parents increase exponentially,” she says. “I am now much more prepared to have these conversations because I realize that I usually have one chance to get these pet parents back and provide them with good data and information.”
Experts say growing misinformation and concerns about pet vaccines come at the same time as… sharp drop in childhood vaccination rates And efforts to end vaccine mandates— represent a serious public health problem with consequences for people as well as their four-legged family members.
COVID turning point
There is no hard data to determine exactly how many people refuse to vaccinate their pets, but researchers have found that vaccine skepticism is indeed widespread: one 2023 poll Of more than 2,000 pet owners, 52% expressed an unfavorable opinion of dog vaccines. While 37% of them believed that vaccines could cause their dogs to develop autism (a fear not supported by any scientific evidence), 22% doubted the effectiveness of vaccinations, and 30% were concerned about whether they were really important.
Matt Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University School of Public Health, co-authored the study along with a team that included his sister, a veterinarian. His findings suggest that COVID vaccine hesitancy has led to a “spillover effect”: People who have negative opinions about human vaccines are more likely to have negative opinions about vaccinating their pets. “How people feel about one form of vaccination influences how they feel about all forms of vaccination,” he says. “Our party identity is so central to our sense of self, especially now in a hyper-polarized America, that it’s not at all surprising that this happens.”
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When Motta did his research, Movement to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) didn't exist. However, he expects that many of those who support relaxing vaccination requirements for themselves and their children will feel the same way about their pets. “It’s an overlap that we’ve demonstrated in our research—we just didn’t call it MAHA at the time,” he says. “There is a perception that we over-medicate and over-vaccinate, and that we can't trust the scientific community and the medical community to have our best interests at heart. People believe this is true both for humans and, presumably, for our pets.”
This resonates with Simon Heder, a health services and policy researcher at Ohio State University who also studied vaccine hesitancy among pet owners. “The same thing seems to be happening with pets: concerns about side effects, concerns about your dog developing some disease, people worrying about too many vaccinations at once, people thinking natural immunity is just better,” he says. “What you see on the human side is replicated on the pet side, which in some ways makes sense because for most people, pets are very, very close and similar to people.”
Cost of skipping vaccination
Some vaccines, such as those that protect against rabies, are required by law in most parts of the United States. Core vaccines, including parvovirus and distemper, are recommended but not required for everyone. dogs And cats. Exactly what your pet needs will depend on factors such as age, geographic location, and risk of exposure from daily activities (such as frequent trips to doggy daycare or dog parks).
“They are very individual,” says Michael Bailey, a veterinarian and president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. However, every pet, even indoor cats, needs a rabies vaccine to protect themselves, other animals, and any people they may come into contact with. “Here's the good news: We've eliminated the canine rabies virus 100% in this country,” he says. “It doesn't mean we've eliminated rabies. There are other types of rabies – raccoon rabies and bat rabies – but canine rabies, which is very, very strong, has been eliminated, and we're trying to keep that going.”
Pet owners are often concerned that vaccines are unnecessary, unsafe, or ineffective. Many people describe rare side effects they read about online, such as anaphylaxis. However, “the evidence is very strong that they are safe for pets,” says Mary Combs, a veterinarian at Lovet Pet Health Care in Glendale, Arizona. “Our most common reactions are very mild: some soreness at the source, some fatigue, and the dog or cat may be sick.”
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Hammond's clients are often victims of misinformation spread online by pet health influencers. “They put out this content that says there is a high risk of autoimmune disease, so the animal's immune system will be compromised for life,” she says. “The pets will not be healthy, they will have a higher risk of allergies, cancer and gastrointestinal disorders, and they will not live as long. There is no hard evidence to support these claims, but once that seed is planted, fear spreads faster than the facts.”
The consequences of missing vaccinations can be devastating. When Hammond worked in a veterinary emergency room, she saw unvaccinated puppies with canine parvovirus, which is highly contagious and often fatal. “I've held puppies and they've literally died in my arms because none of my medications treat what they're struggling with,” she says. “I'm the one who has to see it, and then I have to tell you that your dog has died or will die from a preventable disease.”
Combating rising vaccine skepticism
When Hammond talks to clients who aren't sure if they want to vaccinate their pets, she tells them she can understand why vaccinating their beloved pet seems scary. She then looks them in the eye and tells them about years of safety data. “Usually I can get them to vaccinate their pets, and then once they've done the first round and everything goes well and they see that their dog isn't suddenly catching fire, I can convince them,” she says. “But it takes a very good, collaborative conversation.”
Combs' practice has a policy that they will not treat dogs that are not vaccinated against rabies; Some pet grooming stores and other pet-related businesses have similar policies. While some of her patients' owners are adamant about refusing certain vaccines, she has found that many are willing to reconsider their position, especially when they learn about how deadly vaccine-preventable diseases can affect their pets. “A big part of my job is education,” she says, “and I take that seriously.”
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As the Trump administration continues to question the safety and effectiveness of long-proven vaccines, Motta worries that lawmakers will similarly politicize pet vaccines and move to eliminate requirements for rabies vaccines or make it easier for pet owners to seek exemptions. (What qualifies for a medical exemption varies by state, but veterinarians can usually provide a certificate after an examination noting that the vaccine may jeopardize the pet's health, usually due to a pre-existing adverse reaction or an immune-mediated disease such as inflammatory bowel disease.) The idea may have seemed “ridiculous” a decade ago, he says, but it's no longer a figment of the imagination. “If we give dog parents the option not to vaccinate, our work suggests they might take advantage of it,” he says.
That's why evidence-based messages supporting vaccination are so important, Motta says. One strategy he believes can have an impact is sharing stories of people who regret not vaccinating their pets. When he ran a simulation campaign targeting animals who had respiratory illnesses and whose owners wanted them to decide to get vaccinated, “we found that it was a very effective motivator for people,” he says. “In my opinion, the best representatives of science are scientific skeptics. These are people who say: 'I used to be like you, but I changed my mind, and here's why.'
