Polio
What is it?
Polio is a very infectious virus that can cause permanent paralysis and even death. It is spread through contact with the stool of an infected person. It can also spread through oral and nasal fluid. Most people who get infected with polio won’t have visible symptoms, but they can still spread it to others. In rare cases, people will develop serious symptoms that affect the brain and spinal cord, like meningitis and paralysis. Those who survive polio may develop new symptoms like muscle weakness, joint pain, and fatigue for many years after their first illness. Thankfully there’s a vaccine to protect against polio.
Why is the vaccine important?
Polio was one of the most feared childhood diseases of the 20th Century in the U.S. An epidemic in 1916 killed 6,000 people and left 27,000 people paralyzed. In 1952, there were nearly 60,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths reported in the U.S. There is no cure for polio. Vaccination is the only protection we have against it. Thanks to vaccines, we are fortunate to rarely see new cases of polio in the U.S. Vaccination ensures that our children and future generations will be protected against polio.
Progress
Before the polio vaccine, about 15,000 people were paralyzed by polio each year in the U.S. Most of the people infected were children under age 5. The polio vaccine was introduced in 1955, and polio was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 1979.
Thanks to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we have come far in the fight against polio. Global efforts to vaccinate against polio have reduced the number of polio cases by 99 percent. Because of the vaccine, 1.5 million lives have been saved. The vaccine has also prevented 20 million people from becoming paralyzed.
But there is still endemic transmission of wild polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan. There have also been recent outbreaks in countries in Africa, the Americas, Europe, South-East Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2022, there was even a case of polio in New York.
To one day eradicate polio altogether, we must keep vaccinating our children. If we stopped vaccinating, we would open the door for the disease to come back in our communities. Polio is still present in other parts of the world. That means travelers can become infected and bring the disease into the U.S. Polio is only a plane ride away.
Vaccine Recommendations
Children should receive four doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV): one each at 2 months, 4 months, 6 - 18 months, and 4 - 6 years old. A booster dose of IPV (not a combination vaccine) is given at four to six years. IPV is the only polio vaccine given in the U.S. The oral polio vaccine (OPV) is not used in the U.S. but is used in some other countries.
Side Effects
Polio vaccines, like any medicine, can cause side effects. Most side effects are mild and go away within a few days. Common side effects include fever, headache, or body aches. They can also include redness where the shot was given and tiredness. Side effects are often just a sign that the immune system is working to build antibodies that will fight off future infections.
Talk to your child's healthcare provider if you have more questions about the dangers of polio or side effects from the polio vaccine. In the event of a serious allergic reaction, call 9-1-1.
