RUMA opens new vaccine supply survey

Veterinary professionals are being encouraged to share their experiences of vaccine supply problems in a newly launched survey.

The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance project will remain open until 5pm on Friday 27 June and is seeking the input of clinicians, producers and SQPs.

Officials hope the survey will provide broader understanding of vaccine availability and supply issues across the livestock and aquaculture sectors, as well as the impacts of supply shortages.

Reducing AMR

Concerns have been raised in recent months that limited vaccine availability could reverse progress made in reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) levels, though the group acknowledges the problem will not be solved quickly.

RUMA agriculture chairperson Cat McLaughlin said: “We know this is a complex area with many variables at play, and therefore we want to use the insights we gather from this survey to work directly with livestock sectors and the roles that work in the industry, to explore the best way to ‘cope with’ shortages until solutions can be found for the medium and long term.”

Talks

She added that the group had taken part in talks with the VMD and other stakeholders on the issue and “look forward to continuing to collaborate on this important issue moving forwards”.

The anonymous survey can be accessed now.