Rabies Vaccine Waiver?

[dogs4life]

Anyone hear about this or know of vets helping to get waivers?

Seems reasonable for cases such as pregnancy and severe illness especially in states that require yearly vaccination.

The below quote is from the "Rabies Vaccine Challenge Fund" website.

Why Challenge Current Rabies Vaccine Policy?

Rabies Exemptions and Waivers

Rabies Vaccination is required by law. In some instances, it is possible to secure a written waiver for exemption from rabies booster vaccination. A letter justifying the medical reason for such exemption needs to be obtained from your primary care veterinarian. When seeking a waiver, a rabies serum antibody titer should be performed. Adequate serum rabies titers are at least 1:5 by the RFFIT method. Waiver requests are not generally accepted based on serum antibody titers alone, but may be granted on a case-by-case basis with justification. Waivers are not granted as a matter of personal preference, and localities often do not permit waivers and exemptions regardless of the justification.

Edit to add:

Here are some great resources for rabies vaccine information and laws. Some states will not allow exemptions, waivers or deferrals for any medical reason but some do and allow deferrals for many illnesses and conditions.

Vaccine Exemptions for Animals by state with links - Vaccination Liberation Information
US - Rabies Vaccination Laws by State with links to each states own page - PDF
Report Animal Vaccination Adverse Reactions USDA APHIS, Adverse Event Reporting

[dogs4life]

It kinda chaps my hide I didn't know about this earlier, after Montana was diagnosed with cancer we were never given the option to defer or waive the rabies vaccination and we would have if we could have. The more I dig into this, the more I'm resenting some of the vets we trusted with her care.

California DOES allow rabies vaccine deferrals for medical reasons. For those of you who want more information, please insist getting information from your vet.