Polio Vaccine

Vaccine Facts:

- The Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) is a live vaccine and the virus can be passed through the feces of the vaccinated
- OPV has not been used in the US since 2000 because the only cases of Polio between 1980-2000 were from OPV
- We now use an innactive vaccine (IPV) called IPOL made by Sanofi Pasteur
- Two doses acheive a 90% effectiveness and Three doses, 99%
- If 4 doses are given before age 2, no 5th dose is needed at age 4/5.
- The vaccine should not be given to people allergic to streptomycin, polymyxin B, formaldehyde or neomycin
-Reaction rate is lower than a lot of other vaccines. Most common complaint is irritability and tiredness (according to package insert)

CDC reference
Package Insert