"Many Pet Owners Have Become Vaccine-Hesitant A recent study by Simon Haeder at Texas A&M University queried 2,853 dog owners and 1,977 cat owners about the vaccine status of their pets. The results showed that around 1 in 5 dog owners (22 percent) and nearly the same percentage of cat owners (26 percent) were vaccine-hesitant. The data also indicated that these are the same individuals who are shying away from vaccinating themselves or their children."
"This is not a purely American trend. A study by Shona Bloodworth at the University of Liverpool looked at the medical records of 712,266 dogs and 306,888 cats and found an even higher level of vaccine hesitancy in the UK. Specifically, the results showed that 31 percent of dogs and 34 percent of cats in that part of the world were going without vaccination."
Surveys and medical-record analyses show substantial vaccine hesitancy among pet owners, with about 22 percent of U.S. dog owners and roughly 31 percent of U.K. dogs not being vaccinated. Vaccine-hesitant pet owners are often the same individuals avoiding vaccination for themselves or their children. Many owners fear vaccines cause physical or behavioral problems, including unfounded concerns about canine autism. Veterinary anti-vaccine advocacy exists alongside these trends. Reduced vaccination rates in pets can undermine control of zoonotic diseases; for example, vaccinating dogs for rabies prevents human deaths each year.
Read at Psychology Today
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