Hi there everyone,

I have an update on the yearly vaccines posting which many of us were involved in and I can now tell you for a fact that YOU cannot legally give your own pets vaccinations , so please, please do not start ordering from Ireland or anywhere else.

After the many postings regarding this matter I was very concerned and therefore contacted the National Office of Animal Health to confirm my thoughts on the matter.  I have included below a couple of paragraphs sent to me today in an email from the Chief Executive, Philip Sketchley.

                                          ***************************

"First of all vaccines are POM - (Prescription Only Medicines) and should only be administered by qualified and trained persons i.e. veterinary surgeons / nurses.

There could be risks to the health of the animal and of the vaccine not working if they are administered incorrectly. Vaccines must only be administered to healthy animals and therefore it is a prerequisite for a full examination and health check prior to vaccination. If the vaccine was administered when the animal was, for example, incubating a viral infection it may not work and therefore immunity would not be guaranteed.

As all vaccines for pets are POM (Prescription-Only Medicines), they are subject to the Medicines (Restrictions on the Administration of Veterinary Medicinal Products) Regulations 1994, as amended. Thus it is illegal for members of the public:

to possess a vaccine without a UK vet's prescription
to administer (or permit or cause to be administered) a vaccine without a UK vet's prescription
to import a vaccine without a UK vet's prescription
to import a vaccine which is not authorised in the UK, i.e. with the UK label and UK authorisation number
to sell any vaccine

Note also that any evidence of illegal activity is taken very seriously by the authorities, and prosecution sought. For instance, on 29 September 2003, at Blandford Forum Magistrates Court, Mr Edward Chapman of Dorset, a dog breeder, pleaded guilty to four charges of procurement, possession and administration of veterinary vaccines not authorised in the UK contrary to the Marketing Authorisations for Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulations 1994.  Mr Chapman was ordered to pay fines totalling £450 and to contribute £700 towards costs.  An inability to pay was taken into account by the Court."

National Office of Animal Health
3 Crossfield Chambers
Gladbeck Way
Enfield EN2 7HF
United Kingdom

tel: +44 (0)20 8367 3131

mobile +44 (0)7787 153182

fax: +44 (0)20 8363 1155

web: http://www.noah.co.uk/

Anyone wishing to see a copy of the whole email please contact me direct or go to the National Office of Animal Healths website at the address above, their site is packed with all sorts of information.

Keep well.

Truely.

Hi truely
you can not order vacs from ireland ,all that you can do is ask someone to get them for you .
as they are for sale in chemists that stock vet stuff .
Mari

But as the regs state, if you do not have a prescription from your vet, it is illegal for you to get it from that person, and you cannot legally administer it!

When my B-i-L was an RSPCA Inspector he was able legally to acquire vaccines for his dog, but he had to get a qualified vet to administer it.
:)

So where does this leave people who need to inject their pets with Insulin? This seems yet another way for vets to rake in the money. Good job I don't vaccinate my dogs every year.

Jesse

Poodlebabe, my feelings also, yet again the British vets getting more money!!

This is new to me and I'm shocked that people would try and vaccinate their own dogs?  Maybe I hand over my money too easily (and I know its not cheap!) but I get my dog and cat vaccinated every year at the vets and I honestly wouldn't dream of trying to do it myself.  I just add the cost into my monthly budget for "pets" and then the money's always there when I need it.  If you knew exactly what you were doing though it might be OK.

CG

PS  I don't think the vets charge any more money than the garage or the dentist :D

LOL

"It is a prerequesite that a full examination and health check prior to vaccination. If the vaccine was administered when the animal was, for example, incubating a viral infection it may not work and therefore immunity would not be guaranteed."

Don't know about anyone else but I've never seen anything but the most cursory examination given prior to a vaccination, the animal could still be incubating a virus, just too early to show and as far as I know immunity isn't exactly guaranteed either.

Not that I think that we should be able to vaccinate "willy nilly" but I just don't think it should cost as much as most vets charge.  When we got our first dog vaccinated many years ago we were told by the vet that as more owners took up the service then the cost would come down and it would be cheaper for owners, we were told the same thing when we got the cat neutered in the seventies - obviously not enough owners are vaccinating and neutering ;) as charges have just gone up and up.

Yearly vaccinations?? I can't find any evidence/studies to confirm that YEARLY vaccination is neccessary for all diseases - seems like overkill to me (and money grabbing by the vets)

Dill - the sceptic

Hi Dill.
I have just had the titre test results back for my 18mth old bitch, she has little immunity to Parvo or Distemper, and you can't test for Lepto. I wouldn't bank on dogs not needing them untill you have had them tested!
Dawn.

Hi DawnB, the thing with titres is they can`t test memory cells. A low titre reading doesn`t necessarily mean no immunity to disease, just the animal`s system hasn`t been challenged by the virus recently. The memory cells play an important part, they wake up when the body comes across a virus & activate the antibodies, thats the only way I can describe it :)
If you don`t mind me asking what was the levels & where did you have it done.

Christine, Spain.

Hi Christine.
I had the tests done at Glasgow University, the reading was 10 for Parvo and 11 for Distemper.
Dawn.