Big Pharma’s flu shot campaign: the bite is worse than the bark

You know how we’re hit with the “get your flu shot” hysteria every which way we turn this time of year? Well, apparently it’s time for another flu “epidemic” — only this time our pups are the target.

You’ll see signs, posters, flyers — even an animated video — to try and get you to give Buster or Cocoa a shot. And guess where all that flu propaganda is coming from?

I’ll give you three guesses — and you won’t need the last two.

It’s Merck, of course. The company just slap-dashed a new canine influenza vaccine together and got an immediate “conditional license” to sell it to vets all around the country.

But before your veterinarian fast-talks you into getting your best buddy these flu shots (up to four of them!), here’s what you need to know.

A fast track for FidoThere’s a lot about this canine flu-shot campaign that will sound very familiar. And that includes the frenzy being used to promote it.

At the Merck website for dog owners you can watch a video starring a dog puppet telling how he came down with the flu while he was in a kennel. But, “vaccines are great!” so “talk to your veterinarian” about getting the canine flu shot.

The dog flu frenzy started up last spring when a new influenza strain called H3N2 popped up in the Midwest, and Merck started sounding its alarm.

“We knew we needed to act fast,” the company said in a press release in November. But not only did Merck put grease on its vaccine department wheels, it shared a big tub of the stuff with the USDA, which approves meds for pets.

The agency fast-tracked this new dog-flu shot out the door faster than you can say “sit.” And gave it the dubious title of a “conditional product license.”

What that means is give Max the shot now, then find out if it really works and how safe it is later. Even Merck will only claim that the vaccine has a “reasonable expectation of efficacy and safety.”

Translation: “We think it will work, and we sure hope it’s safe!”

I don’t know about you, but that’s sure not good enough for my border collie, Django.

But while vets are being targeted with the hard sell for this new H3N2 flu vaccine, they’re also being told to keep on giving the older one for another strain — and a booster! That means your poor pup may end up getting up to four flu shots.

And even all those vaccinations won’t keep Fido from coming down with the flu! You see, the shot isn’t intended to prevent the infection, only to (hopefully) reduce symptoms.

But not all vets are buying it.

One who doesn’t is Dr. Billy Griswold, a veterinarian in Gilbert, AZ, who says that the new flu shot could pose “a risk,” to our dogs and that “it’s not appropriate for every patient.”

And even if your vet wanted to try and find out what’s in this vaccine, well, he’d have better luck tracking down a unicorn. Unlike human shots, it appears that animal vaccine ingredients are top secret. And that’s especially true of Merck’s new dog flu formula.

All the company will reveal is that it contains an “adjuvant,” a very controversial vaccine ingredient that is supposed to stimulate a bigger immune reaction. And exactly what that ingredient might be is “proprietary information.”

But while Merck will no doubt be pushing this dog flu vaccine for the foreseeable future, here’s what you really need to know about this illness:

• Dog flu is an upper respiratory virus similar to kennel cough. It’s not contagious to people, and it’s mostly picked up in overcrowded, stressful environments such as shelters and kennels.
• Around half of dogs who come down with the canine flu won’t have any symptoms at all. And for those who do, they’re typically mild and usually can resolve on their own without any treatment at all.
• Just as with people, a dog with a strong immune system has a better chance of not getting sick in the first place. You can help your dog build a strong immune system by keeping him clean, feeding him a quality food, and giving him a probiotic. Probiotics help pets avoid and quickly beat infections, just like they do for humans.
• And if your dog does come down with a cough, try adding a little raw honey to his food. I did that for Django and his cough was gone in less than a day.

Sources:
“Vaccine for new dog-flu strain hitting Arizona “not appropriate for all patients” Ray Stern, December 18, 2015, Phoenix New Times, phoenixnewtimes.com