Your
pet is At Risk until the initial Vaccination Series is completed!
If even
one of the initial series of vaccinations for your new young pet is missed
or delayed, the window of opportunity for fatal disease is open wide! That's
why it's so important to complete the initial vaccination series on time.
Help
close this window of opportunity for fatal disease infection! Bring
newborn pets in for all initial series visits on time! Your veterinarian
will schedule this series of vaccinations to help ensure adequate
protection for your pet.

The
window of fatal disease opportunity in young unvaccinated pets is
constantly changing. If the mother has sufficient immunity in her own
system, some of this protection is passed to the unborn pet. In the first
24 hours after birth more shortterm protection is passed to the newborn
when it nurses. If the mother has no immunity herself, the infant receives
none.
This
temporary immunity weakens over a short period of time (0 to 20 weeks
in most cases) at different rates for different diseases. The infant's
immune system begins to manufacture its own protection (immunity) when
vaccines are administered if protection obtained from the mother does not
"block" its own immune response.
When
vaccinations are given at appropriate intervals. they help close the
window of opportunity for infection because an effective level of
vaccine is present at the time the infant's immune system is able to
respond.
It is not
feasible to test for antibody levels for each potentially fatal disease
and it is nearly impossible, even under laboratory conditions, to predict
exactly when the maternal antibody levels will be low enough, and the
infant's immune system mature enough to begin producing the level of
antibodies needed for protection from any one disease. That's why
following the initial vaccination series schedule is critical. |