There’s a reason you rarely hear about people catching polio—let alone dying from the highly infectious disease—particularly in the U.S. And if you’re under the age of 70, you’ve likely never had to live in fear of acquiring it yourself. The polio vaccine has all but obliterated the illness that once killed thousands and paralyzed 15,000 people nationwide every year.
The above statistic hails from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the agency President-elect Donald Trump has chosen outspoken vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run. When the once and future commander-in-chief announced his HHS pick on X on Nov. 14, he wrote, “The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration,” and that Kennedy would help “end the Chronic Disease epidemic.” Trump also said public health has suffered from the “deception, misinformation, and disinformation” of pharmaceutical companies.
Vaccine disinformation is rampant anew as it’s come to light that an advisor of Kennedy’s petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to rescind its approval of the polio vaccine. The New York Times reported Dec. 13 that attorney Aaron Siri has been helping Kennedy vet candidates for top HHS jobs, a process that has included uncovering their vaccine views. Siri took to X later that afternoon to call the Times article a “hit piece” that “stokes fear,” and stressed that “assuring the safety of these injections is critical.”
The website of Siri & Glimstad LLP touts Siri as a managing partner who has fielded high-profile vaccine injury and policy cases, including “extensive litigation against federal agencies for transparency.” The law firm claims its clients have been awarded more than $5.2 billion in vaccine injury compensation.
In 2022, Siri filed the FDA petition on behalf of the nonprofit Informed Consent Action Network, alleging clinical trials of the polio vaccine weren’t rigorous enough to confirm its safety. The petition says the FDA “could not have fulfilled its statutory duty to assure the safety of [the vaccine] prior to licensing it for injection into infants, toddlers, and children.” Fortune 500 Europe company Sanofi manufactures the polio vaccine cited in the petition; head of vaccines Ayman Chit told the Times that the vaccine has undergone hundreds of studies, including safety follow-ups as long as six months.
Trump told TIME last month he planned to “have a big discussion” about childhood vaccination programs with Kennedy, who “does not disagree with vaccinations, all vaccinations.”
Is the polio vaccine safe?
While an oral polio vaccine (OPV) is administered in some countries, inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been the only available form of immunization in the U.S. since 2000. It’s not only safe but also effective. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two doses of IPV provide at least 90% protection, while three doses offer at least 99% protection.
The risks and possible side effects of the polio vaccine are comparable to those of other vaccines, the CDC says, such as pain, soreness, swelling, and/or redness at the injection site. Fainting and dizziness are also possible. More serious reactions, including allergic reactions, are rare.
Three billion children have been vaccinated against polio since 1988, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, meaning 20 million people who would’ve otherwise been paralyzed by polio are walking today.
The vaccine has helped eradicate two of the three wild poliovirus strains, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Types 2 and 3 were eradicated in 1999 and 2020, respectively. Type 1 remained endemic in only Pakistan and Afghanistan as of 2022.
What is polio?
Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a distinctly contagious illness caused by a virus called poliovirus. The virus targets the nervous system, which is why it sometimes triggers spinal and respiratory paralysis—and death.
Polio primarily infects children under 5 and has done so around the globe for millennia. According to WHO, children with “withered limbs,” a hallmark of the ailment, are shown using canes in ancient Egyptian images. British physician Michael Underwood documented the first known clinical description of polio in 1789, and German doctor Jakob Heine formally recognized the condition in 1840.
Polio was “the most feared disease in the world” throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, WHO says. It killed or paralyzed more than half a million people every year by the mid-20th century, and left many survivors with lifelong complications from wheelchairs to artificial respirators.
The first polio vaccine, developed by U.S. physician Jonas Salk, became available in 1955.
How does polio spread?
Polio typically spreads from person to person via fecal-oral transmission, according to the CDC, but it can also spread through a sick person’s respiratory droplets. You might catch it from touching a contaminated object and putting your fingers in your mouth, or simply being in close contact with someone who has polio. People carrying the virus can infect others for up to two weeks after symptoms appear, and asymptomatic people can still make others sick.
Though less common, polio can also circulate when people consume contaminated food or drink. Proper hand washing with soap and water is more important than ever when it comes to polio prevention, as the CDC notes alcohol-based hand sanitizers don’t kill poliovirus.
Wild poliovirus has been eradicated in the U.S., but an infected person traveling from abroad can spur an outbreak. Anyone not fully vaccinated against polio is susceptible to infection. In 2022, an unvaccinated man in New York contracted paralytic polio from community transmission; the CDC confirmed genetic sequencing had tied New York wastewater samples to those in London and Jerusalem.
What are the symptoms of polio?
While most people with polio are asymptomatic, according to the CDC, about 25% of patients will exhibit these flu-like symptoms, which last two to five days:
- Fever
- Headache
- Nausea
- Sore throat
- Stomach pain
- Tiredness
The flu-like symptoms may not seem too bad, but polio brings devastating complications for some. Up to 5% of polio patients develop meningitis, the inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord, the CDC estimates. Up to 0.5% develop paralysis of or weakness in the arms and/or legs—and up to 10% of those paralyzed die.
Even people with mild infections can experience post-polio syndrome (PPS) decades later. Symptoms of this non-contagious disease include joint pain, muscle weakness, and mental and physical fatigue. Up to 40% of polio survivors get PPS, which begins 15 to 40 years after infection.
Seek emergency medical care if you suspect you or a loved one has developed polio symptoms.
How is polio treated?
No cure for polio exists, which is why medical and public health officials worldwide urge vaccination to prevent the illness. Polio survivors with muscle weakness may benefit from physical or occupational therapy.
If you grew up in the U.S., chances are you received your four IPV polio vaccine doses at these CDC-recommended ages:
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6–18 months
- 4–6 years
If you’re unsure of your polio vaccination status, it’s not too late. The CDC recommends adults get three IPV doses, with the second one to two months after the first, and the third six to 12 months after the second.
For more on vaccines:
- Yes, you can get the COVID, flu, and RSV vaccines at once. Here are the pros and cons
- New COVID vaccines are here. What to know about latest shots in wake of nation’s biggest summer surge
- New flu shots have arrived. Here’s the best time to get your annual vaccine
- RSV can be deadly, especially for older adults. What to know about symptoms and the new vaccine
- Pneumonia can be a deadly complication of COVID, the flu, and RSV: What to know about pneumococcal vaccination
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