Up until now, antibody titers have been acceptable for Pepper here, and my vet actually recommended that over the vaccine. I haven't had to get a rabies shot for her in over 3 years. I took her to the vet yesterday to get her annual titer drawn, and they tell me that the state has notified them that as of next year, a titer will no longer be accepted as a substitute for the vaccine. I'm trying to find some information on this but I'm having no luck. Tennessee accepts the 3 year vaccine, but what sucks is that state is apparently requiring one, possibly two consecutive 1-year vaccines prior to being eligible for the 3 year vaccine.

I'm just sick. The last time Pepper had a round of vaccinations, she felt just awful for a few days afterward. I changed vets and started doing titers the very next year. I don't know if it was the rabies shot that did it, or one of the others in the group (this was before I knew better and I let the vet shoot away with all of them), but she was absolutely miserable.

Does anyone know anything about this requirement for 1-year shots prior to getting the 3-year shot?

You should join their group on yahoo groups.

Thanks Robin...I actually just found it and signed up before I came back here and saw your link!

Cool, I joined it when they first started it...they are really helpful folks.

Amyzon,

That is part of the initial puppy series of rabies shots, which must be given at or before 6 months of age for the first shot according to TN law and then a booster one year later. After that one year puppy booster, your dogs can be given the 3 year boosters.

Tennessee’s state anti-rabies law, Title 68 Chapter 8 Section 103 (i)tennessee.gov/sos/acts/103/pub/pc0765.pdf declares that “Nothing in this section shall be construed to require more frequent rabies vaccinations or a greater number of rabies vaccinations than are required by the rabies compendium,” and defines the “compendium” under Section 102 (3) as “the most recent issue of the national ‘Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control’ published by the Association of State Public Health Veterinarians..”

The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s (NASPHV) Compendium of Rabies Prevention and Control http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5702a1.htm promulgated in Tennessee’s anti-rabies law declares that “All vaccines must be administered in accordance with the specifications of the product label or package insert. …. Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. ….. No laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series.”

If you have questions about complying with the law, contact the State Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. John Dunn, Tennessee Department of Health John.Dunn@state.tn.us Phone: 615.741.7247 .

I did contact John Dunn a few weeks ago, and he pretty much told me what you did. I think my vet didn't realize that Pepper had a 1 year booster in addition to her puppy shots. She gave Pepper a 3 year shot over the weekend. I still hate it though, because I know she still had immunity.

Arkansas Veterinary Medical Association http://www.arkvetmed.org/new.html
RABIES VACCINATIONS
New Recommendations

Recommendations for maintaining adequate pre-exposure immunization status: A routine booster every two years is NOT recommended since the newer cell culture vaccines often confer adequate antibody levels for 5 to 8 years and risk of adverse reactions is increased by frequent boosters. The standard pre-exposure recommendation for veterinarians practicing in an area with enzootic rabies is serologic testing every two years with booster vaccination when the antibody titer falls below the acceptable level, i.e. 1:5 by RFFIT.