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Polio Vaccine
A polio vaccine is a medicine that is given to prevent polio. There are two general types. One type is the inactivated vaccine, which contains no live poliovirus. The other type is the oral vaccine, which contains live but weakened poliovirus. The vaccine was first licensed in 1955. Where and when it is given depends on whether the person is an adult or a child.
As you might expect, the polio vaccine is a medicine that is given to prevent polio (also called poliomyelitis).
(Click Polio Prevention for more information about preventing polio.)
There are two general types of polio vaccine. One type is an inactivated vaccine, meaning that the vaccine contains no live poliovirus. The other type is an oral vaccine, which contains live but weakened poliovirus.
(Click Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis for more information about the oral polio vaccine and its risks.)
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. 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 vaccine 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 vaccine was licensed. This was the vaccine of choice in the United States and most other countries after its introduction. However, the oral 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 vaccine no longer be used. In 2000, the use of the oral vaccine in the Unites States was discontinued.
Inactivated polio vaccine is a shot that is given in the leg or arm, depending on the person's age. It may be given at the same time as other vaccines.
Children
Most people should get a 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 to 18 months
- A booster polio shot at 4 to 6 years.
Adults
Most adults do not need the 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:
- 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 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.
Expected Results of the Polio Vaccine
Expected Results of the Polio Vaccine
The polio vaccine is highly effective in producing immunity to poliovirus and protection from paralytic poliomyelitis. Approximately 90 percent or more of vaccine recipients develop protective antibodies to all three poliovirus types after two doses, and at least 99 percent are immune following three doses.
Most people who get the polio vaccine develop no side effects. However, a vaccine, like any medicine, can cause side effects. Most side effects are minor, meaning that the symptoms improve on their own or are easily treated by the healthcare provider. In rare cases, side effects can be more serious. In rare cases, they can cause severe harm or death. However, getting a polio vaccine is much safer than getting polio.
(Click Polio Vaccine Side Effects for more information.)
The polio vaccine is not appropriate for everyone (see Polio Vaccine Precautions to learn about groups of people who should wait or not receive the vaccine.)
No wild polio has been reported in the United States for more than 20 years. However, 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 a vaccine. Until then, we need to keep getting our children vaccinated.
In 2002, a combination polio vaccine (Pediarix®) containing inactivated polio 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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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;
