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Polio Vaccine

Preventive and Immunologic Intervention

Polio vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent poliomyelitis, given in two forms: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth. The World Health Organization recommends all children be fully vaccinated against polio, and the two vaccines have eliminated polio from most of the world, reducing the number of cases reported each year from an estimated 350,000 in 1988 to 33 in 2018. The first successful demonstration of a polio vaccine was by Hilary Koprowski in 1950 using a live attenuated virus taken by mouth, though it was not approved for use in the United States. The inactivated, killed polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was announced successful in 1955, and a further attenuated live oral vaccine developed by Albert Sabin came into commercial use in 1961. The polio vaccine is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.

Facts
Classification
Status
Standard of Care 1
Origin Year
1955 2
FAQs

Why does the United States use only the injected polio vaccine when the oral one is still used elsewhere?

The oral vaccine can give rise to polio variants, so the United States has used only the injected vaccine since 2000.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that inactivated polio vaccine, given by a shot in the leg or arm, has been the only polio vaccine used in the United States since 2000. The oral polio vaccine, given as drops in the mouth, is no longer licensed or available there, though it is still used in many parts of the world. The agency gives the reason for the change as eliminating the risk of polio variants that can occur with the oral vaccine. Its current schedule for children in the United States is four doses of the inactivated vaccine.
Connections

Treats

Source Polio vaccine (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
2. Wikipedia: Polio Vaccine Online Reference Encyclopedia Article
WikipediaLead section
Quote, Lead section
The success of an inactivated (killed) polio vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk, was announced in 1955.
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Polio vaccine (Wikipedia)
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_vaccine, lead section
    Polio vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio).
  • Treats: Poliomyelitis, Lead - treats-condition
    Polio vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio).
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