Are More People Refusing Dog Vaccinations In Utah?

Since the pandemic, more people are skeptical of vaccines. But it’s not just vaccines for humans according to a new study from a scientific journal named Vaccine. They found people who have dogs are 53% more hesitant to get their dogs vaccinated even for rabies. 37% were worried about the shots giving a cognitive disability to their pet. 

In Utah, 74% of the population got at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. That is a lot lower than some of the eastern states that were above 90%, but not as low as some of the southern states that were in the 60's percentagewise. 

I would assume if the number of people who refused the Covid vaccine is an indication, that the hesitancy for pet vaccinations in Utah would be higher. This could be a real problem as disease could run quickly through pet populations. What level of vaccine refusal could bring about these results? This is a quote from the Hill: 

The study stated it has been shown that a sustained vaccination of at least 70 percent of dogs could nearly eliminate human rabies cases in high-risk regions. However, the authors warned vaccination rates could eventually drop below 70 percent if CVH continues to rise. 

The perception of vaccines changed during the pandemic. With this, there has been a greater number of people who question the need, effectiveness and safety of pet vaccines.

Should a disease like rabies increase, it would affect us all. According to the World Health Organization, 99% of rabies transmission to humans comes from dogs worldwide.