Survey finds many dog owners avoid vaccinations amid belief shots cause autism

A significant share of dog owners report refusing or hesitating to vaccinate their pets because they believe shots could cause autism, according to a 2023 survey published in the journal Vaccine.

The Boston University School of Public Health study found about 37% of dog owners think canine vaccination could cause autism in their pets, more than 20% believe pet vaccines are ineffective, and roughly 30% said they are unnecessary. Vaccination is widely recommended by veterinary groups to protect animals from contagious diseases that can be serious or fatal.

Veterinarians and researchers disputed the belief that vaccines cause autism in animals. Lori Kogan, PhD, a psychologist and professor of clinical sciences at Colorado State University and chair of the Human-Animal Interaction Section of the American Psychological Association, told WebMD that "pets don't get autism." Michael Q. Bailey, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told HuffPost, "There is absolutely no scientific proof connecting any vaccine that we produce today with autism. And this has been studied and researched, and I think that this is fairly well settled information in the scientific literature. Today’s vaccines have no connection with autism."

Experts said vaccine recommendations for pets vary with environment, lifestyle and health history, and urged owners to discuss concerns with their veterinarians. Bailey said hesitancy can prompt useful questions but should lead to informed conversations rather than refusal based on misinformation.

Public-health and animal-health officials note that routine vaccinations protect not only individual animals but also broader animal and human communities by reducing the spread of infectious diseases. Failure to vaccinate can leave pets vulnerable to diseases that have historically caused severe illness and death in unprotected populations.

The survey’s findings come amid broader shifts in pet ownership and care. Young adults are increasingly bringing animals into shared living spaces for emotional support, a trend that has raised attention to both the benefits of companion animals and the responsibilities of communal living. The Associated Press reported that college students are bringing dogs, cats and other pets to live in dorms in record numbers. Recent Marist College graduate Sam Gaskins told The Post she housed a pet rabbit in three of her four college years, saying the animal helped during a stressful transition to campus life.

Veterinarians recommend that owners weigh the risks and benefits of each vaccine case by case. Core vaccines and timing may differ by species and local disease prevalence, and veterinarians are the primary source for developing individualized vaccination schedules. Accurate information and veterinary guidance were highlighted by experts as essential tools to address the misconceptions identified in the Vaccine survey.