Polio Vaccine: An Overview
Polio vaccine is a medicine that is given to prevent polio (also called poliomyelitis).
There are two general types of polio vaccine. One type is an inactivated polio vaccine, meaning that the vaccine contains no live
poliovirus. The other type is an
oral polio vaccine, which contains live but weakened poliovirus.
History of Polio and the Polio Vaccine
A 1916 polio epidemic in the United States killed 6,000 people and paralyzed 27,000 more. In the early 1950s, there were more than 20,000 cases of polio each year. Polio vaccination began in 1955. By 1960, the number of polio disease cases had dropped to about 3,000. The last cases of paralytic poliomyelitis caused by endemic
polio transmission of wild virus in the United States were in 1979, when an outbreak occurred among the Amish in several Midwestern states. The success of the polio vaccination in the United States and other countries sparked a worldwide effort to eliminate polio.
The inactivated polio vaccine was licensed in 1955 and was used extensively from that time until the early 1960s. In 1961, the oral polio vaccine was licensed. Oral polio vaccine was the vaccine of choice in the United States and most other countries of the world after its introduction. However, oral polio vaccine can cause a rare but serious reaction called vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis. When an enhanced-potency inactivated polio vaccine became available in 1998, it was recommended that the oral polio vaccine not be used. In 2000, the use of oral polio vaccine in the Unites States was discontinued.
The Polio Vaccine Schedule
Inactivated
polio vaccine is a shot that is given in the leg or arm, depending on the person's age. The polio vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines.
Children
Most people should get polio vaccine when they are children. Children get four doses of polio:
- A dose at 2 months
- A dose at 4 months
- A dose at 6-18 months
- A booster polio shot at 4-6 years.
Adults
Most adults do not need polio vaccine because they were vaccinated as children. But, in general, three groups of adults are at higher risk for coming into contact with
poliovirus and should consider polio vaccination:
- People traveling to areas of the world where polio is common
- Laboratory workers who might handle poliovirus
- Healthcare workers treating patients who could have polio.
Adults in these three groups as well as those who have never received the polio vaccine should get three doses of polio vaccine:
- The first dose at any time
- The second dose 1 to 2 months later
- The third dose 6 to 12 months after the second dose.
An accelerated polio vaccine schedule can be used for unvaccinated children and adults, with four-week intervals between the three doses of the primary series.
Adults who are at high risk of coming in contact with poliovirus and who have received the three-dose primary series should receive a booster dose of polio vaccine. Based on available information, adults do not need more than a single lifetime booster dose with polio vaccine.
Expected Results of the Polio Vaccine
Polio vaccine is highly effective in producing immunity to
poliovirus and protection from paralytic poliomyelitis. Approximately 90 percent or more of polio vaccine recipients develop protective antibodies to all three poliovirus types after two doses, and at least 99 percent are immune following three doses.
Possible Side Effects of the Polio Vaccine
Most people who get the polio vaccine develop no side effects. However, a vaccine, like any medicine, can cause side effects. Most polio vaccine side effects are minor, meaning that the symptoms improve on their own or are easily treated by the healthcare provider. In rare cases, polio vaccine side effects can be more serious. Very rarely, they can cause severe harm or death. However, getting polio vaccine is much safer than getting polio.
Polio Vaccine Precautions
Why Is the Polio Vaccine Still Required?
No wild polio has been reported in the United States for over 20 years. But the disease is still common in some parts of the world. It would only take one case of polio from another country to bring the disease back if we were not protected by polio vaccine. If the effort to eliminate the disease from the world is successful, some day we won't need polio vaccine. Until then, we need to keep getting our children vaccinated.
Combination Polio Vaccine
In 2002, a combination vaccine (Pediarix
®) containing inactivated
polio vaccine was approved for use in the United States. The vaccine also contains
DTaP (a vaccine that protects against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus) and a pediatric dose of
hepatitis B vaccine. The minimum age for the first dose of Pediarix is six weeks (as it is for polio vaccine and DTaP).
Pediarix is approved only for the first three doses of the DTaP and polio vaccine series, which are usually given at about two, four, and six months of age. However, Pediarix is approved for use through six years of age, the same as the DTaP component. A child who is behind schedule can receive Pediarix as long as it is given for doses one, two, or three of the series, and the child is younger than seven years of age. Pediarix is not approved for the fourth dose of the polio series, or the fourth or fifth (booster) doses of the DTaP series.
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