Polio
Vaccines - A Modern Miracle
Franklin D. Roosevelt
was one of polio's most famous victims.Polio vaccines are one of the greatest medical success stories of the
20th century. Before polio vaccines were developed, no illness inspired
more dread and outright panic than polio did. Sometimes called infantile
paralysis, polio struck the nation every summer and fall with increasingly
virulent epidemics.1
By the mid-1950s mass immunizations began to slow polio's spread. In
1979, the last case of natural, or "wild-type" polio, occurred in
the United States.1
Even though polio has been eradicated from the US and the Western Hemisphere,
it still afflicts children and adults in other parts of the world. A single
infection brought into the US by someone from a country where polio still
persists could possibly lead to polio epidemics again if we were not protected.
That is why we continue to vaccinate.1,2
Click on the poliovirus image
to learn more about the major
milestones in the fight against polio.
Sources:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Epidemiology
and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: The Pink Book.
9th ed. Washington, DC: Public Health Foundation; 2006:97-110. 2. World Health Organization
(WHO). Polio eradication: now more than ever, stop polio forever. Available
at: http://www.who.int/features/2004/polio/en.
Accessed March 22, 2005
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Indication
IPOL vaccine is given to infants (as young as 6 weeks of age), children, and adults to prevent polio caused by poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3.
Safety Information
Side effects to IPOL vaccine include injection site pain, swelling, and redness; fever, loss of appetite, fussiness, and drowsiness. Other side effects may occur. If you notice any other problems or symptoms following vaccination, please contact your health-care professional immediately. Vaccination with IPOL vaccine may not protect all individuals.
For more information about IPOL vaccine, talk to your health-care professional.
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