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Vaccine Types

Polio

What is it?

Polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestinal tract. It is most often spread through person-to-person contact with the stool of an infected person and may also spread through oral/nasal fluid.

Why is it important?

Polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th Century in the United Sates. An epidemic in 1916 killed 6,000 people and left 27,000 more paralyzed. In 1952 alone, the height of the polio epidemic, nearly 60,000 cases with more than 3,000 deaths were reported in the U.S. Thanks to vaccines, we are fortunate to very rarely see new cases of polio in the United States. Vaccination ensures that our children and future generations can prevent polio from returning.

Progress

Before the polio vaccine, 13,000 to 20,000 people were paralyzed by polio and about 1,000 people died from polio each year in the U.S. Most of the people who were infected were children under the age of five. The polio vaccine was introduced in 1955, and polio was declared eliminated from the Americas in 1994.

Thanks the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we are very close to eradicating polio worldwide. Worldwide efforts to vaccinate against polio have reduced the number of polio cases by 99 percent with 71 countries declared polio-free, but there are still outbreaks of polio in northern India, Nigeria and in the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. If we don't finish the fight now, more than 10 million children under the age of five could be paralyzed by polio in the next 40 years.

To keep this progress on track, we must keep vaccinating our children here in the U.S. If we stopped vaccinating against polio, we’d open the door open for the disease resurge in our communities. International travel to these regions is common, and polio is only a plane ride away.

Read more about polio vaccine history or view a timeline of vaccine history at The History of Vaccines.

Vaccine Recommendations

Children should receive inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) or IPV combined with the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) and hepatitis B vaccines at two months, four months, and 6 to 18 months. A booster dose of IPV (not a combination vaccine) is given at four to six years.

Side Effects

Most children who receive the inactivated polio vaccine will have no side effects of any kind. The few children who do suffer a side effect have only mild reactions, including soreness where the shot was given. There are no serious side effects associated with the inactivated polio vaccine.

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Polio Polio Poliomyselitis (polio) is an extremely contagious viral infection that affects the nerve cells of the brain stem and spinal cord and can lead to paralysis. [+] more	Diphtheria Diphtheria Diphtheria is a bacterial respiratory illness that causes a thick covering in the back of the throat, leading to breathing problems, paralysis, or heart failure. [+] more
Rotavirus Rotavirus Rotavirus is a viral infection of the digestive track, and is the most common cause of severe diarrhea and vomiting in infants and young children. [+] more	Pneumococcal Pneumococcal Pneumococcal bacteria live in noses and throats of people of all ages. Pneumococcus can infect the middle ear, sinuses, lungs, central nervous system and bloodstream. [+] more
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Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Pertussis (Whooping Cough) is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory disease. Pertussis causes violent coughing spells that make it hard to eat, drink or breathe, and is especially severe in young infants. [+] more	Chickenpox Chickenpox Varicella (Chickenpox) is a highly contagious viral infection characterized by a blistering rash that can cover the entire body. Complications include skin infections, pneumonia and brain swelling. [+] more
Hepatitis A Hepatitis A Hepatitis A (HAV) virus attacks the liver, and is spread through stool of an infected person by direct contact or by contaminated food or drink. [+] more	Meningococcal Meningococcal Meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection that causes inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (bacterial meningitis) and blood poisoning (septicemia), and requires immediate medical attention. [+] more
Hib Hib Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) bacterium can infect a child’s skin, joints, bones and ears. Hib can lead to a variety of infections including pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. [+] more	HPV HPV Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. About 40 types of HPV can infect the genital areas of males and females. A few types can lead to cervical and other cancers. [+] more