The oral polio vaccine is safe

[Guest guest]

Safe? Oh really? That's why the US and the UK - and many other countries

have rejected this vaccine?

Someone is living in fantasyland here...

http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/25/stories/2008122555150800.htm

Opinion - Editorials

The oral polio vaccine is safe

Ever since four infants died in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvallur district after they

were vaccinated against measles in April 2008, there has been some

apprehension about the safety of vaccination. More recently, the death of

three children in Tamil Nadu and one child in Karnataka following oral polio

vaccination served as grist to the rumour mill. The outcome in Tamil Nadu,

according to public health officials, was panic that led many parents to

refuse to get their children vaccinated. What is clear is that the polio

vaccination had nothing to do with the deaths, which were by other medical

causes. It is scientifically established that none of the chemicals used in

the vaccine can trigger anaphylaxis. This is an immediate immunological

reaction characterised by breathlessness, low blood pressure, and swelling

of the body that is encountered extremely rarely (and if encountered, can be

easily treated with adrenaline) when a vaccine is administered

intramuscularly or subcutaneously. As the polio vaccine is given orally, the

chances of death from anaphylaxis are nil. Even if the vaccine were to

contain some other live infectious virus instead of the weakened polio virus

it would take a few days for the virus to multiply and reach a critical

number to cause an infectious disease. It is inconceivable that two drops of

any vaccine can kill a child within a short time, especially when given

orally. The only drawback of the oral polio vaccine, which uses a live

attenuated virus to induce immunity, is the extremely low risk of inducing

polio in 1 in 150,000 vaccinated children.

The number of children vaccinated in Tamil Nadu during the first two days,

December 21 and 22, of the programme was a disturbing 300,000 below the number

vaccinated during the corresponding days in January, the first round of

vaccination for 2008. Since the relevant numbers have remained virtually

unchanged year after year from 2004, the substantial drop can be reasonably

suspected to be on account of the fear factor. The public health authorities in

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka need to work single-mindedly, deploying their

scientific imagination and persuasive powers, including the most effective

communication tools, to assure people of the safety of the polio vaccine. It is

critical for the polio and other vaccination programmes to continue to be

accepted by the people. Tamil Nadu, which has not had a single case of polio

during the last two years, should go all out to vaccinate every child missed out

this time. While the polio vaccine is absolutely safe, it must be remembered

that children not vaccinated in time are at risk of getting infected by imported

wild virus strains.