No, it's unlikely to ever be phased out, as you found. Here in New York, there's a huge reservoir for the disease in the wildlife population - bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, et cetera. There are still thousands and thousands of known cases of rabies per year among wild animals (85% of them are raccoons), and that's just in this state, and just the ones the Department of Health knows about.
I'm glad you guys don't have to deal with this out there - one case of bat rabies in twenty years is nothing. We've had two human fatalities from contact with rabid bats in the last ten - count your blessings....
Yes, I saw that New York still has quite a problem! - Hope everyone stays on top of it! The vaccines are a small price to pay if you have ever seen an animal suffering from one of these preventable diseases... especially parvo... Parvo is heartbreaking to watch, and I have seen it. I hope folks don't act on the one-in-a-million reports of reactions to vaccines. We take bigger risks walking across the street.
Maybe over time the time period between shots will be expanded as we learn that the shots last longer than we thought, but I hope people don't interpret that to mean the shots are not necessary.