- Joined
- Feb 27, 2002
- Messages
- 143
- Purraise
- 1
No, things are not as they seem, often. That is true. But science is science. It makes sense, and is reproducible. Making a statement like
"Dogs being injected with rabies getting agressive because they are getting a little bit of the disease itself" makes no sense if you understand what is actually in a rabies vaccine. There are modified live virus vaccines, but much more popular are subunit vaccines that cannot possibly infect the animal, but they can unduce an protective immune response. An animal is not going to get a mild case of rabies from either type of vaccine, it's just not possible. The immune response to one or the other may induce a mild fever or fatigue, etc, but that is due to cytokine release as a function of the activation of the immune system, not due to an actual case of rabies.
Now, I myself lost my very much beloved cat due to a vaccine-induced fibrosarcoma, so I am also wary of vaccines, or at the very least the frequency of them. I believe, from what I know, that overvaccinating can be bad.
But to say they are useless and bad in part because we all have an immune system is irresponsible at best.
Yes, we do have an immune system, and it's a wonderful, amazing thing. But our animals also get incurable diseases like rabies and distemper that the immune system cannot protect against. Diseases evolve that way, that's just nature. There are other diseases that ARE curable, and I often choose not to vaccinate for them. My horse never got equine flu vaccine, because, while the flu is bad, the horse usually recovers.
Canine distemper, actually, is a great example of a vaccine that works. Have you ever traveled to a third world country and seen dogs that have been infected with this virus? It's extremely contagious, and beyond heartbreaking. The vaccines for canine distemper virus make it possible for most of us in the US and other civilized countries to never come across such an animal. But if we stopped vaccinating our dogs for it, that would change, and very quickly.
I choose to vaccinate my animals against things like rabies and distemper because I have done the research and I know that the benefits outweigh the risks about 1,000,000 to 1. I, myself, am vaccinated for rabies. If I were bitten by a rabid animal, which can happen in my profession, I would be at a GREAT risk. Now, I am protected and have every chance of being okay if such a thing could happen.
ALL drugs have risks associated. There is not one single drug out there on the market that does not have side effects. That's biology.
But then again, everything has risks. It's just up to the individual to weight the benefits. It's a risk to walk out the front door every day. But the benefits of doing so FAR outweigh the risks. And it's not BAD to go outside even though people die outside every day. Follow me?
Didn't I say I have to work this afternoon?
"Dogs being injected with rabies getting agressive because they are getting a little bit of the disease itself" makes no sense if you understand what is actually in a rabies vaccine. There are modified live virus vaccines, but much more popular are subunit vaccines that cannot possibly infect the animal, but they can unduce an protective immune response. An animal is not going to get a mild case of rabies from either type of vaccine, it's just not possible. The immune response to one or the other may induce a mild fever or fatigue, etc, but that is due to cytokine release as a function of the activation of the immune system, not due to an actual case of rabies.
Now, I myself lost my very much beloved cat due to a vaccine-induced fibrosarcoma, so I am also wary of vaccines, or at the very least the frequency of them. I believe, from what I know, that overvaccinating can be bad.
But to say they are useless and bad in part because we all have an immune system is irresponsible at best.
Yes, we do have an immune system, and it's a wonderful, amazing thing. But our animals also get incurable diseases like rabies and distemper that the immune system cannot protect against. Diseases evolve that way, that's just nature. There are other diseases that ARE curable, and I often choose not to vaccinate for them. My horse never got equine flu vaccine, because, while the flu is bad, the horse usually recovers.
Canine distemper, actually, is a great example of a vaccine that works. Have you ever traveled to a third world country and seen dogs that have been infected with this virus? It's extremely contagious, and beyond heartbreaking. The vaccines for canine distemper virus make it possible for most of us in the US and other civilized countries to never come across such an animal. But if we stopped vaccinating our dogs for it, that would change, and very quickly.
I choose to vaccinate my animals against things like rabies and distemper because I have done the research and I know that the benefits outweigh the risks about 1,000,000 to 1. I, myself, am vaccinated for rabies. If I were bitten by a rabid animal, which can happen in my profession, I would be at a GREAT risk. Now, I am protected and have every chance of being okay if such a thing could happen.
ALL drugs have risks associated. There is not one single drug out there on the market that does not have side effects. That's biology.
But then again, everything has risks. It's just up to the individual to weight the benefits. It's a risk to walk out the front door every day. But the benefits of doing so FAR outweigh the risks. And it's not BAD to go outside even though people die outside every day. Follow me?
Didn't I say I have to work this afternoon?