How Vaccinations Protect Your Pet and the Community

Dogs and cats need vaccinations early on. The vaccinations they get help to prevent or bolster their immune systems against dangerous viral and bacterial infections and diseases.
 

They are the best defense against disease in healthy animals today. They also help to limit the chances of acquiring disease from wild animals or other pets.
 

What Are Vaccines?

Vaccinations are usually developed and produced under strict and sterile environments and safety rules. The injections contain weakened versions of the pathogen they are immunizing against. The weakened pathogens trigger the host body to produce antibodies that can fight against them.
 

The antibodies retain a memory of the pathogen and can be identified later if the pet is infected. However, the vaccine protection usually wears off after some time, and repeat vaccinations are necessary. Repeat vaccinations help to remind the pet’s body to produce the required antibodies. Vets can usually measure the number of antibodies using blood tests called antibody titers.
 

Why Are They Important?

Vaccinations help to improve your pet’s quality of life and keep deadly diseases at bay. Many experts agree that vaccinations have, in the past century, prevented disease and death in countless animals. Below is a list of why vaccines are important to pets and their community:
 

·      Help to prevent many pet diseases.

·      They help to avoid expensive treatments for preventable illnesses.

·      They prevent the spread of diseases that can be passed on from animals to people and other animals.

·      They prevent pets from acquiring illnesses from the wild, like distemper and rabies.

·      Many pet boarding facilities require that all pets in their care be vaccinated.

·      Many states require that pets, including indoor pets, are vaccinated against particular illnesses.
 

Are Vaccines Effective?

Vaccines are generally effective for most pets, especially when given at the right times. Most of them have a specific timeline for when they should be re-administered in a pet’s lifetime.
 

Keeping these timelines is essential to ensuring that your pet constantly produces the appropriate antibodies in the required amount. When a pet is vaccinated, it is only on rare occasions that they fail to fight off the infection if they do get it.
 

Which Vaccinations Does My Pet Need?

There are two main types of vaccines that your pet can get: core and noncore vaccinations. Core vaccines are those recommended for all dogs and cats to have unless there is a medical reason not to vaccinate.
 

Noncore vaccines are specially recommended vaccines for pets based on their chances of acquiring an infection. Noncore vaccines will depend on geographic location or lifestyle. For instance, if your dog travels to places where ticks that carry Lyme disease are found, then they need a vaccination for that.
 

Also, if your dog visits daycare or boarding centers often, they need canine influenza or Bordetella vaccine.
 

Here are vaccines that your dog may need:

•  Leptospirosis.
• Canine parainfluenza.
• Canine viral hepatitis.
• Kennel cough.
• Canine parvovirus.
• Rabies.
• Chlamydia.

Here are vaccines that your cats may need:

• Rabies.
• Chlamydia.
• Calicivirus
• Feline panleukopenia.
• Feline viral rhinotracheitis
• Feline leukemia.

For more on how vaccinations protect your pet and the community, visit MPC Veterinary Care at our office in San Antonio, Texas. Call (210) 556-7950 to book an appointment today. For emergencies, call (210) 737-7373.
 

https://vetmed.vt.edu/news/2023/pet-vaccinations.html

https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/news/why-vaccinate-your-pets