Question about the safety of HypoCat

[jahzara]

I'm really excited about HypoCat https://healthnews.com/news/scientists-have-created-a-cat-allergy-vaccine/
It's a vaccine given to cats that make their own immune system attack the proteins that people with cat allergies are triggered by. Since my husband is allergic to our cats and takes allergy meds every day, I would love for him to benefit from this vaccine. (I originally thought it was a vaccine humans could take and was all on board with having my husband get it.)

Now that I know that it's for animals, my hesitation with the vaccine is that the 3 year rabies vaccine seem to have a side effect of causing cancer at the injection site. My vet confirmed this when I asked about it. He's been practicing veterinary medicine in the US since the 70s and said that when the 3 year vaccine came out, they began seeing this aggressive form of cancer forming. He said at the time, vets were sounding the alarm, but the American Veterinary Association wrote off the concerns and blamed it on the cat's body for the cause of the cancer.. He said they responded by pointing out that the 1 year vaccine didn't cause this problem and it is most likely the adjuvant in the 3 yr version causing the problems.

I'm wondering if this new vaccine will be safe. Does anyone know what Switzerland's veterinary medicine standards are like, or perhaps know if they do the 3 year rabies vaccine over there? Is the delivery system an already used one or is the adjuvant similar to the 1 yr vaccines? I don't want to put something new into my animals and have them become ill or die prematurely, but I also really want them to have this vaccine when it becomes available in the US. Any information anyone can provide that lends to its safety would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[kashmir64]

Please don't take this the wrong way, it's just my belief.
But giving anything that alters an animals natural body function (in this case dander) just for our own comfort is not something I can get behind. If someone wants to do it to themselves, that's fine. But I have an issue with altering natural things like this.

 

[fionasmom]

I found the article to be very much written from the human benefit angle with no concern for the possible side effects of the cat. To me, a red flag is the use of a vaccine which stimulates the immune system. Before I gave it to my cat, I would want to know what other possible effects it could have, if any, and if it could set the cat up for autoimmune conditions.

 

[jahzara]

I’m worried about side effects too.

I do see the whole “this doesn’t benefit the cat” angle when it comes to their direct body and health. But I also recognize that people both don’t adopt cats due to allergies or get rid of cats due to allergies, which indirectly effects the health of the greater cat population. The former leaves an available home unavailable and more euthanasia at shelters, and the latter is an issue when it comes to babies being allergic since allergy medication can’t be give to small infants.

I looked into immunotherapy for my husband but it’s really expensive (several thousand dollars) (and also very involved time wise.) Till I know the safety of this vaccine, I think we’ll stick with him taking allergy medication. I just hope Sweden has better safety standards to their pets than the US. I hate the thought of animals suffering unknown side effects.