Polio vaccines have been a massive public health victory in the US. But purely celebratory messaging overlooks the ongoing threat if vaccination rates fall.
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Articles on Polio vaccine
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With poliovirus circulating in New York, health authorities worry that pockets of the county with low polio vaccination rates could give the virus a foothold.
Health officials say the new case of polio in New York state and the presence of poliovirus in the municipal wastewater suggests that hundreds more could already be infected with the disease.
Polio cases in the US, UK and Israel remind us that this could also happen in Australia. Here’s what we should watch out for.
The move follows recent detections of poliovirus in London’s wastewater.
The oral polio vaccine – which is no longer given in the US – relies on a live but weakened virus that can actually be passed from person to person.
Some of the omicron variant’s unique properties – such as its ability to spread rapidly while causing milder COVID-19 infections – could usher in a new phase of the pandemic.
History tells us the public will tolerate risk of harm from a vaccine if their fear of the disease exceeds their fear of the vaccine.
From Queen Elizabeth to Willie Nelson, celebrities have long used their platforms to promote public health information. Why do people trust celebrities for health advice more than the government?
In 1959, three armed men broke into the University of Montréal and stole the whole supply of polio vaccine — 75,000 vials valued at $50,000. What have we learned from this event?
As the eradication of polio and the successful rollout of AIDS treatments have shown in the past, global cooperation in the face of COVID-19 is possible.
Historically, we immunized children against diseases like polio that were a clear danger to them, but COVID-19 is usually mild in children. However, herd immunity is unlikely without vaccinating kids.
Massive vaccine distribution efforts take a lot of coordination. The rollout of the Salk polio vaccine in the US in 1955 holds lessons for those delivering COVID-19 shots today.
Too much hope is being pinned on the vaccine alone to get us out of the current pandemic. But ‘low-tech’ solutions are needed, too.
People who oppose vaccines often are dismissed as ignorant or naive. Failing to hear their concerns and address them may only be fueling vaccine resistance, however.
A tragic error showed how complicated it can be to distribute vaccines on a mass scale.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s personal battle with polio, and his steady hand while overseeing a national eradication campaign, highlights decisive leadership against a virus that terrified America.
Polio was nearly eradicated with the Salk vaccine in 1955. At the time, little was known about this mysterious disease that paralyzed and sometimes killed young children.
A challenge in eradicating polio comes from a version of the vaccine itself, which relies on live but attenuated virus. Rationally designing a new vaccine could help get rid of polio once and for all.
Polio can be circulating through a community long before anyone is paralyzed. Monitoring sewage for the virus lets public health officials short-circuit this ‘silent transmission.’
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer, Film and Media Studies, University of Pittsburgh
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Professor and Chair of Epidemiology, University of Michigan
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Research Fellow, American University School of Public Affairs
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Professor Emerita of Biology, Indiana University
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Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia
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Assistant Research Scientist in Epidemiology, University of Michigan
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Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina
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Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy at the D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Western Sydney University
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Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina
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Professor of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
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Senior Lecturer in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, King's College London
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Professor of Medicine, University of East Anglia
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Professor of American Studies, Brandeis University
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Assistant Professor of Marketing, Kennesaw State University
