Polio

Polio is a disabling disease caused by a virus. It most commonly spreads when someone who has polio doesn't wash their hands properly after going to the bathroom and then touches food or objects. If a person who is unvaccinated touches that food or object, they can become infected with polio. It can also be spread when someone with polio coughs or sneezes on food or objects that unvaccinated people touch. Although many people who get polio will have no or mild flu-like symptoms, the disease can affect the brain and cause serious—and permanent—complications, like paresthesia (feeling pins and needles), meningitis (swelling of the lining of the brain and spinal cord), or paralysis (not being able to move).source: ¹

The inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) is the only polio vaccine recommended in the United States since 2000.source: ² There are several combination vaccines that also include IPVsource: ³:

• DTaP-IPV
• DTaP-HBV-IPV
• DTaP-IPV-Hib-HBV
• DTaP-IPV-Hib

If someone was vaccinated outside of the United States, they may have been given the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). If your child received any polio vaccine as oral drops, they may still need to get the IPV type of the polio vaccine.source: ⁴

Polio is very contagious. For every one child paralyzed by polio, there are 200–2,000 children infected who show no symptoms.source: ⁵ However, these children can still spread the disease to others. In severe cases, polio can cause nerve injury. This can lead to paralysis, difficulty breathing, and death.

Polio is rare in the United States, but it still exists in a few countries in Asia and Africa. People can get polio when they travel—and when they get home, they can spread it to people who are unvaccinated. The 2022 case in New York occurred this way.source: ⁶

Any side effects are usually mild and go away in a few days. The most common side effect is soreness where the vaccine was given.source: ²