Polio Vaccine
Polio is an infectious disease that can cause permanent paralysis of various parts of the body. This can cause death if the patient’s breathing muscles are affected. Symptoms vary widely between patients. While most infections produce little to no symptoms, others can cause serious issues. Polio spiked in the early 1900s, particularly affecting small children.
Source: Our World in Data
The Case For the Vaccine
Polio has been effectively eliminated in countries with effective vaccines. The United States’ Polio cases dropped significantly almost immediately after the vaccine’s introduction. There is no cure for Polio, so the best defense lies within vaccination. Up to one in fifty individuals who contract Polio can experience paralysis. Before the vaccine, over 15,000 people in the United States were paralyzed each year due to Polio. Since 1979, the United States has seen no cases of wild Polio, illustrating the vaccine’s success.
Source: CDC
The Case Against the Vaccine
The true necessity of the Polio vaccine has fallen under scrutiny. Some researchers believe that the United States blew the Polio epidemic of the 1900s out of proportion for propaganda. Those researchers attribute Polio-like symptoms to DDT (a pesticide used at the time). After World War II, DDT was spread liberally to lessen pest damage. People who accidentally drank large quantities of DDT displayed tremors, headaches, nausea, and seizures. However, the symptoms disappeared once the exposure stopped, and, more notably, those symptoms do not match the traditional characteristics of Polio, particularly paralysis. DDT was banned in the United States in 1972.
Some individuals also perceive a low risk of infection because of the disease’s rarity today. Parents have also raised concerns about the presence of formaldehyde in the vaccine. In the IPV vaccine, formaldehyde serves to inactivate the Poliovirus. While this ingredient is present in a quantity deemed safe, it is still difficult for some to justify its presence.
Sources: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, EPA, and CDC
Conclusion
Immediately after looking at the data, this vaccine appears to be one of the most successful campaigns in history. Polio cases have absolutely crumbled, with large declines recorded immediately after the vaccine’s introduction. However, modern research has called into question the truthfulness of the Polio vaccine campaigns. The vaccine’s ingredients have raised valid concerns as well. When deciding to use this vaccine or not, we encourage you to conduct your own research, understand both sides, learn common misconceptions, and understand why those misconceptions are false.