Vaccination Guidelines

Vaccinations are intended to protect our patients from infectious diseases. Some of these diseases are zoonotic (communicable to humans) while other diseases are highly communicable between pets or between wildlife and pets.  Appropriate vaccinations in our pet population can lead to a reduction in the incidence of disease as well as an improvement in human health.  The number of cases of human rabies is low in this country due to a successful rabies vaccination program in our companion animals.  Sadly this is not the case in many developing nations.   Rabies is still a serious human health risk.  The Jockey Hollow Veterinary Practice uses the Continuum line of vaccines from Intervet to help developing nations overcome this fatal and preventable disease.

It is important to follow a schedule of vaccinations with appropriately timed boosters to provide adequate immunity. Currently many opinions exist on the best vaccination strategies. These topics are widely discussed and debated in the veterinary community, pharmaceutical industry and amongst pet owners. There is no consensus opinion at this time. While opinions may vary widely, it is important for the Jockey Hollow Veterinary Practice to adopt a strategy that protects our patients from disease, adverse reactions from vaccinations, and misinformation from media and websites.

The Jockey Hollow Veterinary Practice believes that appropriate vaccinations are important for disease prevention and eradication. 

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has a Vaccination Task Force that evaluates current vaccination guidelines. The Jockey Hollow Veterinary Association has adopted the findings of this task force and will offer customized vaccination programs to meet the needs of each patient.  

According to the AAHA guidelines, the Jockey Hollow Veterinary Practice will divide our recommendations between two categories:

§ Core Vaccinations: vaccination for diseases that are prevalent, virulent and appropriate for all pets regardless of lifestyle

§ Non-Core Vaccinations: vaccinations for diseases that are dependent on the pet’s lifestyle (for example: hunting dogs, dog’s that go to groomers/kennels, or dogs and cats with wildlife risk exposure)

Pet’s who have immune diseases may need to have blood tests for evaluation of protective immunity in lieu of vaccines.