‘Pawtism Is Not Real: But Unvaccinated Pets Pose A Danger
By
Leonard Zwelling
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/science/vaccines-pets-dogs-cats.html?searchResultPosition=2
I don’t know why I should be surprised.
This piece from Emily Anthes and Teddy Rosenbluth in the Science section of The New York Times on October 28 reports that vaccine hesitancy has reached the veterinarian’s office. That’s right. Pet owners are not vaccinating their pets against rabies, leptospirosis, parvovirus and a host of other preventable diseases because they think their own vaccine hesitancy ought to extend to their pets. They are endangering their pets and everyone with whom the pets come into contact.
I know, I know. Are you kidding? Rabies? Pets? Vaccine hesitancy?
Here’s Dr. Brennan McKenzie who publishes evidence-based information on his blog SkeptVet: “”it is out there—the concept of ‘pawtism.” That’s correct. Some owners believe that vaccinating their pets will adversely affect the animal’s cognitive abilities. As has been widely reported, vaccine’s do not cause autism in humans. There is no autism in non-humans of which science is aware.
So, my first reaction on reading the attached article was anger. How can people be so stupid as to think it is a good idea to deny their pets vaccines that could save the pet’s life? But that’s my reaction to people who are anti-vaxxers and I am absolutely convinced that neither my blogs nor anything else that anyone from mainstream science has written has dissuaded people who doubt the benefits of vaccines from their beliefs. Ranting and raving are not helpful.
Before addressing what to do about vaccine skepticism, one must first understand it. Again, I need to get behind my anger. What’s the anger hiding?
I believe that vaccine skepticism, which escalated during and after Covid, is caused by a profound lack of understanding of what a vaccine is and isn’t on the part of the skeptics because they were not properly educated in school and do not understand the science of vaccines. Now that’s behind my anger. Skeptics have not been given the benefit of information they can believe.
Why? There were the awful mixed messages from putative authority figures from President Trump to Anthony Fauci. No one knew who to trust. Eventually, people trusted no one. Can you blame them? I cannot.
My suggestion is that everyone, vaccine skeptics and not, educate themselves in the actions of vaccines—the benefits and risks (and there are real risks, even for pets). Then, once they have the numbers comparing benefits and risks, decide for oneself and one’s pet what to do.
I happen to be in favor of mandatory vaccines for school age children to prevent highly communicable infectious diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, and whooping cough. Polio vaccination too ought to be mandatory. These diseases make children very sick and can kill. A vaccine is a better choice. Ditto for the pups. The article describes horrible deaths suffered by unvaccinated dogs and cats.
I believe society must strike a balance between individual choice and mandatory vaccines to promote population health. I know many disagree with me and I know that what I write may make no difference. However, if you meet a vaccine skeptic, do not dismiss him or her. Do not think the person stupid. More than likely, the person has heard far too many stories to know what to do. Most of those stories vilify vaccines. But stories are not science.
The real story here is what doesn’t happen. The vast majority of vaccinated people and their pets do not contract serious, life-threatening illnesses.
Now as far as Covid in people is concerned, I did take another booster because my concern about long-Covid is far greater than my concern about a rare side effect. However, skepticism here is probably warranted. Neither the Trump 1.0 nor Biden White Houses left the country comfortable with any of its recommendations from the six-foot distancing which was based on nothing to the true value of masks which, as far as I can tell, is uncertain.
We in science have done a poor job in educating the public to how science works (the truth is constantly changing). We cannot blame people who are not scientists for doubting anything they hear or read on the Internet. I also suspect that most people never did learn much about vaccines, medicine, or public health in high school. Can you really blame anyone for not knowing what to do and for fearing an injection into their arm or the rump of their dogs? I cannot.
Unfortunately, the current Secretary of Health and Human Services is not an advocate of good science nor of proven public health practices. I fear it may be a while until the government’s leadership in matters of health actually base the advice it gives on science. That the Trump 2.0 Administration is dismantling our scientific infrastructure will not help.
In the end, we in science can try to educate. Whether it makes any difference in our own health or the health of our pets remains to be seen.
I believe that vaccines save lives. Recent outbreaks of measles in unvaccinated Americans is a sign that herd immunity may be vanishing and the return of some childhood illnesses may be just around the corner. Measles is one thing and bad enough. The return of polio would be one of the great tragedies in public health history.
In the meantime, I believe that children and adults benefit from proper vaccination schedules. I suspect the same is true for pets. As someone who has been bitten by a dog or two, even when just playing with the animal, I was surely glad they had been fully vaccinated. And, yes, I had had a tetanus shot as well.
