Immunizations: Polio

Why get vaccinated?
Polio is a disease. It can paralyze (make arms and legs unable to move) or even cause death.

The polio vaccine prevents polio. Before the vaccine, thousands of our children got polio every year. Polio vaccine is helping to rid the world of polio. When that hapens, no one will ever get polio again, and we will not need polio vaccine.

How is the vaccine given?
There are two kinds of vaccine:

• Inactivated Polio Vaccine (a shot)
• Oral Polio Vaccine (drops by mouth)

IPV is the only type available in our area.

Which vaccines should my child get and when?
Most children should get 4 doses of polio vaccine at these ages:

• 2 months
• 4 months
• 12-18 months
• 4-6 years

What are the risks and advantages?
Almost all children who complete the vaccine series will be protected from polio.

As with any medicine, vaccines carry a small risk of serious harm, such as a severe allergic reaction (hives, difficulty breathing, shock) or even death.

IPV cannot cause polio because it does not contain live virus.

Most people have no problems from either IPV.

• 4 doses of IPV (this is how our office administers the vaccine):
  • Risk: Mild soreness or arm or leg
  • Not as good as OPV for protecting the community from polio outbreaks
  • Advantage: Does not cause polio
    
    

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