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Polio Vaccine Effects

Polio was once a serious health problem that paralyzed and killed many people around the world, including in the United States. Due to the development of a successful polio vaccine, polio has been essentially eliminated in the United States and in many other parts of the world. The polio vaccine continues to be used to protect against future outbreaks of polio, which could result from travel to regions where polio is still common. Some mild or serious side effects can result from immunization against polio.

  1. History

    • The polio vaccine helped the United States and other countries overcome a serious epidemic that caused more than 20,000 cases of illness every year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Rates of polio steadily declined after people began to be vaccinated in 1955, and there have been no cases of "wild" polio in the United States since the 1980s, according to the CDC.

    Benefits

    • The polio vaccine has been one of the most successful vaccines. A complete course of the vaccine successfully keeps immunized individuals from developing polio. People who are not in contact with polio do not need to be immunized again, and most children are immunized. However, according to the CDC, people traveling to countries where polio is still a common health concern as well as people who might work with polio (in laboratories or health-care environments) should consider being vaccinated again.

    Side Effects

    • There is only a very small chance that there will be serious negative health consequences to being vaccinated against polio, according to the CDC. The most common side effect of the vaccine is injection-site reaction, which can include pain or redness around the place where the shot was given, according to FamilyDoctor.org.

    Considerations

    • The largest risk from being vaccinated against polio is for people who are allergic to any part of the vaccine, including the following medicines: neomycin, streptomycin and polymyxin B. People who have a negative reaction to one polio shot should not get the rest of the series.

    OPV

    • Oral polio vaccine (OPV) was once widely used to immunize people in the United States against polio. Although it is still used in some places, health-care professionals in the United States have for the most part stopped using OPV because it has led to some cases of polio. The CDC recommends asking your doctor for more information if only the OPV is available.

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