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SHOT IN THE DARK
Barbara Andrews
This post to TheDogPlace.com succinctly points how little we
really know about vaccines. "I operate a puppy rescue shelter. About three months ago I switched to Intervet Progard 5 as I heard it was the best protection you could get. We (had successfully) used Fort Dodge 5 way and Bio Cor Prevent Vac 5. We worm with Pyrantel and then a three day regiment of Panacur.
"My question is this. We have had a terrible bout with sickness for about the last three months. I did not think that it could be vaccine related until I read the article about antibiotic resistant disease! I don’t loose a puppy easily. The symptoms range from mild to fatal intestinal, just like Parvo, and also heart symptoms. Parvo was diagnosed on a few occasions. Antibiotics had no effect at all even with the intestinal not present. Some pups have come down within days of their second vaccination and that has NEVER happened here. We take extreme cautions, the property is Cloroxed daily, as well as all kennels and play areas. New puppies are isolated for at least three days. Could this problem be vaccine related? I didn't have much of a problem before I started using the Intervet."
I directed her to TheDogPlace > Library > DogCare
for long-suppressed data on vaccines. After vets in the U.K. began to speak out, truth crossed the Atlantic, and the AVMA
finally caved in regarding the dangerous (but highly
profitable) practice of over-vaccination. The new "core" and
non-core protocol would never have emerged had it not been
for this website, and open internet discussion among multi-dog owners and caretakers. When a successful no-kill cattery used the new leukemia shot and the percentage of affected cats soared, the carefully documented 1980’s report
failed to raise public awareness of vaccine risks and efficacy.
It wasn’t until the internet exploded in Europe that undeniable information began to
come across the pond.
Back in the early eighties, the first canine newspaper
The Dog,
published by Holly Meier, was the undisputed leader in news
reportage. Canine Chronicle, Ric Routlege’s creation,
was the second newspaper. We broke the story on parvo vaccine problems in the January 1981 issue and in doing so,
I became the first journalist to collect and disseminate current,
no-hypevaccine information to dog owners. The first parvo shot was feline derivative and while it may have prevented more deaths than it caused,
who would know? What we do know is that the vaccine not only caused
and/or allowed virus breakthrough, it was directly related to reproductive failures.
Fellow columnist Dr. Erbeck speculated that parvo virus was of laboratory origin. He
believed it did not just “mutate” at the Collie Nationals as was first thought. When I learned that parvo had also erupted in England despite rigid quarantine regulations, Dr. Erbeck and I questioned how a lab experiment gone awry in the States could have immediately spread to Europe? In 1981, intercontinental flight was not common for animals.
A few years later, Dr. Erbeck’s theory was strengthened when a well known pharmaceutical company alleged that a competitor was releasing vaccines for diseases unknown and unconfirmed in the canine, citing in particular, Lyme’s Disease.
I pray to be wrong but answers may be found in headlines of the future. Noting mysterious outbreaks such as SARS, Legionnaires Disease, the strange cruise ship malady Norwalk Virus, etc., a reasonable person
would question everything we thought we knew.
We might also wonder which of the required childhood shots are truly worth the risk. In May, it was quietly reported that vaccinated servicemen had developed smallpox. Hats off to the brave healthcare and military personnel who accepted that risk for the greater benefit for our country.
The canine derivative parvo vaccine was so successful that, predictably, a wave of new vaccines came on the market. Most have now been proven unnecessary, ineffective, or downright dangerous as reported above. The current official recommendation is that only three “core” vaccines; distemper, parvo, adenovirus-2, and rabies be given to puppies or dogs with uncertain vaccine backgrounds. Non-core vaccines are to be judiciously administered because the diseases they protect against are self-limiting or treatable. They are as follows: canine parainfluenza virus, leptospira (for which the protection only lasts 6 months anyway) bordetella (kennel cough) and Lyme disease.
Significantly, other shots that have become popular in recent years are now listed as “not generally recommended” which translated means, apt to do more harm than good! They are giardia, adenovirus-1, and coronavirus. Remember that marketing hype once convinced us corona could make whole litters drop dead of heart failure…
The current debate among experts is how often to repeat, or whether to repeat at all. Rabies vaccination used to be manufacturer recommended on a four-year program yet many states require yearly rabies shots. I have written about and defended this only because it gets dogs to the vet that might otherwise
not be seen or receive needed health care. Better to pass laws requiring our carefully monitored dogs to have something they don’t need, even if there is proven risk, than to have millions of dogs suffer from lack of veterinary supervision. Well??? We love all dogs right?
For many years, I have given boosters at about four years, and I do not stress an old dog’s immune system by challenging it with shots to protect against something she may never encounter. I use killed vaccines even though live is touted as lasting longer. Longer than what?
If you read other
information on this subject, you know getting the truth into
the public domain has been about as easy aiming at a snake's eye in
the back of a dark cave. Yeah. It’s a been a shot in the dark
and those who dare to take it have been warned the bullet could ricochet.
In spite of that, vaccine knowledge has been forced to the
forefront by many dog writers. Take heed but for the
dogs you love, take aim!
Copyright © 2003 Barbara J. Andrews. All rights reserved. Except for brief reference quotations with source provided, no portions thereof may be stored or reprinted in any form, electronic or otherwise, without prior express written consent of Barbara J. Andrews
reprint permission  SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE June 2003
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