Dear Member,

An article has appeared in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald in relation to the profession's approach to vaccinating dogs and cats. Clients of small animal practitioners may ask questions about the Herald article, so we wanted to draw your attention to the article.

The AVA has been working on this complex issue for some time, including extensive debates through Policy Advisory Council. These discussions have resulted in a new policy on vaccinating dogs and cats, which has now been ratified by the AVA Board. As with all AVA policies, drafts were circulated for member comments in hard copy through the AVJ and electronically via eLine. You’ll see that the policy still strongly emphasises the need for each case to be treated on an individual basis taking into consideration the full range of relevant factors.

We have recently surveyed ASAVA members about their current vaccination practices and some expressed concerns about various aspects of the new policy. We will be communicating in more detail to AVA members and other stakeholders about the new policy and these surrounding concerns in a few weeks.

Resources have been prepared to help you communicate with clients about the need for annual health checks whether or not vaccinations are given during the yearly visit. These will be available to members shortly.

We will have more information for all AVA members within a few weeks, and we will keep you informed if there is further mainstream media interest in this issue.

Mark Lawrie
President