POLIO VACCINE

What you need to know before you or your child get the vaccine

ABOUT THE DISEASE

Polio is a a serious disease. It spreads when germs pass from an infected person to the mouths of others. Polio can:

* paralyze a person (make arms and legs unable to move)

* cause death

ABOUT THE VACCINE

Benefits of the vaccine

Vaccination is the best way to protect against polio. Because most children get the polio vaccines, there are now very few cases of this disease. Before most children were vaccinated, there were thousands of cases of polio.

There are 2 kinds of polio vaccines

Oral Polio Vaccine and IPV (Inactivated Polio Vaccine) is given as a shot in the leg or arm.

Polio schedule

Most children should have a total of 4 Polio vaccines. They should have Polio at:

* 2 months of age

* 4 months of age

* 6-18 months of age

* 4-6 years of age.

Other vaccines may be given at the same time as Polio.

Who should get Polio Vaccine?

Most doctors recommend that almost all young children get Polio Vaccine. But there are some cautions. Tell your doctor or nurse if the person getting the vaccine or anyone else in close contact with the person getting the vaccine is less able to fight serious infection because of:

* a disease she/he was born with

* treatment with drugs such as long-term steroids

* any kind of cancer

* cancer treatment with x-rays or drugs

* AIDS or HIV infection

If so, your doctor or nurse will probably give IPV instead of OPV.

If you are older than age 18 years, you usually do not need polio vaccine.

Travel

If you are traveling to a country where there is polio, you should get either OPV or IPV.

Pregnancy

If protection is needed during pregnancy, OPV or IPV can be used.

Allergy to neomycin or streptomycin

Does the person getting the vaccine have an allergy to the drugs neomycin? If so, she/he should get OPV, but not IPV. Ask your doctor or nurse if you are not sure.

Tell your doctor or nurse if the person getting the vaccine:

* ever had a serious allergic reaction or other problem after getting polio vaccine

* now has moderate or severe illness

If you are not sure, ask your doctor or nurse.

What are the risks from polio vaccine?

As with any medicine, there are very small risks that serious problems, even death, could occur after getting a vaccine.

The risks from the vaccine are much smaller than the risks from the disease if people stopped using vaccine.

Almost all people who get polio vaccine have no problems from it.

Risks of OPV

Risks to the person taking OPV:

There is a very small chance of getting polio disease from the vaccine.

* about 1 case occurs for every 1 1/2 million first doses

* about 1 case occurs for every 30 million later doses

Risks to people who never took polio vaccine who have close contact with the person taking OPV: After a person gets OPV, it can be found in his or her mouth and stool. If you never took polio vaccine, there is a very small chance of getting polio disease from close contact with a child who got OPV in the past 30 days. (Examples of close contact include changing diapers or kissing.)

* about 1 case occur for every 2 million first dose

* about 1 case occurs for every 15 million later doses Talk to your doctor or nurse about getting IPV.

Risks of IPV

This vaccine is not known to cause problems except mild soreness where the shot is given.

WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS A SERIOUS REACTION?

* Call a doctor or get the person to a doctor right away.

* Write down what happened and the date and time it happened.

* Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to file a Vaccine Adverse Event Report form or call: (800) 822-7067 (toll free)

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program gives compensation (payment) to persons thought to be injured by vaccines. For details call: (800) 338-2382 (toll free)

If you want to learn more, ask your doctor or nurse. She/he can give you the vaccine package insert or suggest other sources of information.