Vaccines – Producers vs. Vets vs. Influencers?

By Kevin J. Jacque, DVM, PAS

We can all appreciate that life runs a little differently than it did 10, 20, or 50 years ago. Our farms are more technologically live, data-driven, and managed by highly trained people. As a country, we produce more animal products and use fewer resources. We have become more efficient, but we also have become more separated – socially and by farm animal species. The ever-changing global economy, the influencer status of social media, and consumer influence pose challenges to determining what is best for our animal operations. As a veterinarian, I try to negotiate and guide clients through these challenges but also recommend what data, research, and experience dictate best for the situation.

I often hear from clients, what should I vaccinate with? My response is usually, “That’s a loaded question.” Perhaps we would all like that older advertisement situation and just hit the “easy button,” but it’s not quite as simple as that.  The fact is that all vaccines are risk-based – in that we recommend what is needed based on the risk of animals being exposed to the disease, at risk of getting severely sick from the disease, or the disease presents a large production inhibitor to our operations. Now, some diseases are more commonly at risk (i.e., a greater than 75% chance of interacting with the disease), and these we generally call “core” vaccines.

Core vaccines will differ for species but let us present some examples. For horses, West Nile, Tetanus, Eastern Encephalitis, Western Encephalitis, and Rabies are considered core vaccines. However, we see many horses that travel to shows or interact with new horses consistently, so we suggest adding some other vaccines. Horses may also be suggested to receive vaccines like Potomac Horse Fever or Botulism, but these are risk-based and may not be necessary for your own animal. As another example, let us use sheep and goats. For our sheep and goats, we commonly recommend “CD/T” vaccine, which is Clostridium perfringens Type C and D plus Tetanus. This we recommend as a baseline, or core vaccine, but there are others that we could include if you have breeding animals or have excessive disease prevalence (e.g. CL or Chlamydia).

Do your animals travel? Do you breed animals consistently? Do you have disease challenges or production inhibitors from a disease basis? As veterinarians, we like to negotiate and discuss these issues during a yearly herd visit, weekly herd check, or yearly vaccine appointment. I encourage you to work with your herd or flock veterinarian. You may find other influencers on social media, from the delivery truck, or at a conference or meeting. These other folks are also knowledgeable, but please always discuss with your veterinarian. If you added a vaccine and then had abortions or serious reactions, we as veterinarians, cannot do much at that point, but we can help prevent issues. I would also encourage you to think about your relationship with your veterinarian in general. Do you see them at least once per year? Do they offer suggestions? Do you ask questions in between visits? Utilizing your veterinarian can provide a lot of insight and perspective to new “treatments” or “supplements.”

I once visited a beef herd of around 30 momma cows that had terrible success at breeding. I had not been to the farm before, but at their herd check, it became apparent that their breeding success was dismal (less than 50% pregnant at the yearly roundup). We discussed their management strategies. I recognized that they had animals sharing ranch territory with other species and cattle, in addition to other challenges. We discussed a change in their vaccine protocol (which was actually absent for many years – as in, no vaccines). The next year, the herd had a natural breeding pregnancy rate of 95%. We changed and added vaccines back-in, but we also discussed management changes too. Sometimes we over-vaccinate. Sometimes, there are no vaccines at all. Modifications in the vaccine protocol may save money, save labor, improve herd health, reduce other inputs, and reduce the need for antibiotics.

Vaccines are only one management tool. Other factors will benefit disease prevalence and incidence such as nutrition, genetics, housing, ventilation, human stressors, management procedures, travel, and being in Ohio – the weather. With the advent of data and data recording systems for records and individual animal health, we should continue to look at our herd or flock. Are we doing what is necessary? Are we overworking the animals? Are we providing adequate nutrition, rest, stocking density, and reduction of other stressors? I hope I have “influenced” you not in a social-media fashion, but as someone who works within these queries on a daily basis. In our practice, we try to make the best recommendations based on data, research, and experience and I hope you will too.

Dr. Kevin Jacque is a clinical assistant professor with Ohio State’s College of Veterinary Medicine working at the OSU Large Animal Services clinic in Marysville, OH. Dr. Jacque works with clients of most farm animal species. His interests include large animal preventive medicine, antimicrobial stewardship, farm management protocol development, nutrition, and leadership. He is a member of AVMA, AABP, AVC, OVMA, and Ohio Dairy Veterinarians. When not working, he enjoys time with his family and running their small hobby farm in Union County.