About the Polio Vaccine
The coronavirus is spreading quicker and quicker, and people are in need of a cure, or a vaccine.
Polio was one of the world’s worst outbreak in U.S history, and because of the polio vaccine, the amount of cases have drastically decreased. Here is some information about polio and the polio vaccine, and maybe it could potentially connect to the current coronavirus.
What is Poliomyelitis?
- Polio is a deadly disease that affected thousands of people in the early 1900’s. It primarily affected children under the age of 5, who were not fully vaccinated.
- The polio virus attacks the nervous system, and creates several life threatening symptoms.
- Symptoms could range from fever, fatigue, vomiting, headache, to pain in the limbs and paralysis.
- Paralysis was one of the most common symptoms and could sometimes cause the victim to be unable to move certain parts of their body.
- The disease was extremely contagious and was commonly caught from feces entering the body or through contaminated water. Although there is no cure, polio can be easily prevented from vaccinations.
The 1952 Polio Epidemic in the US
- The polio epidemic in the U.S. started in Vermont and then spread to New York City.
- In New York City in 1916, the first polio epidemic occurred: more than 9,000 cases were reported and more than 2,300 deaths resulted.
- Polio spiked in the 1940s and the early 1950s.
- Polio then spread quickly to different parts of the world including Norway, Sweden, Europe, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Parents started to get protective over their children. There was also discrimination over disabled children during school. In certain places, children under the age of 16 must have a safe health certificate to be permitted to enter the restricted area.
The Polio Vaccine
- The first polio vaccine was invented by Jonas Edward Salk, an American physician.
- There are two types of vaccines, the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). The Oral Polio Vaccine is taken as drops, whereas the Inactivated Polio Vaccine is given through an injection. The vaccines worked by helping the body create antibodies. Cases of polio have decreased by 99.9% since 1988 because of the polio vaccine.
What do you think–is polio or the current coronavirus worse? And, do you think it could possibly connect to the coronavirus or covid-19? Hopefully, doctors will soon find a vaccine for the coronavirus to slow the amount of cases, as it did for polio. Don’t forget to always wash your hands!
