{"id":11725,"date":"2025-01-23T16:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T22:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/?post_type=jtf_topics&p=11725"},"modified":"2025-01-27T16:56:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T22:56:56","slug":"is-polio-really-a-concern","status":"publish","type":"jtf_topics","link":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/jtf_topics\/is-polio-really-a-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"Is polio really a concern?"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row source=”” text=”Clinical Trials” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” google_fonts=”font_family:Abril%20Fatface%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal” link=”” css=”.vc_custom_1708910874436{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”The Claim:” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=””]A\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0circulating among anti-vaxxers that polio was rare and often mild even before vaccines, hygiene improvements reduced its spread, the oral vaccine caused more issues like paralysis, and questions the need for continued polio vaccination in the U.S. since the disease was eradicated decades ago.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”The Facts:” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css=””]Stephen Baker, a chiropractor, does not have the education, training, or experience to claim that the oral polio vaccine caused\u00a0all the cases of polio that resulted in paralysis\u00a0or use of the iron lung. \u00a0This is easy enough to disprove since there were about\u00a021,000<\/a>\u00a0cases of\u00a0polio<\/a>\u00a0cases in 1952, a full\u00a0nine<\/strong>\u00a0years before the oral vaccine was available and three years before the inactivated vaccine. Also, the iron lung was invented decades before, in\u00a01927<\/a>.<\/p>\n

People not washing their hands before\u00a01955, when\u00a0the first\u00a0polio vaccine<\/a>\u00a0was used, did not cause polio. Handwashing was\u00a0not invented<\/a>\u00a0in 1955.\u00a0In fact, sanitation hurt.\u00a0Before\u00a0the\u00a01900s, most kids were exposed to polio as babies, which helped them build natural immunity. Better sanitation from\u00a0the\u00a0Industrial Revolution<\/a>\u00a0improved health but also reduced exposure to\u00a0the\u00a0virus, leading to polio outbreaks. He is correct that polio is spread through fecal matter (poop), but through such\u00a0tiny amounts<\/a>\u00a0that you would have no idea you were putting it into your body. I hope you weren’t eating lunch when you read that.<\/p>\n

Polio was much feared right before the vaccine was available to families. With 57,000 cases in the U.S. in 1952, parents feared only\u00a0nuclear annihilation<\/a>\u00a0more. And we still vaccinate for polio despite prior elimination, because, as evidenced by the 2022 polio\u00a0outbreak<\/a>\u00a0in New York, infectious diseases are only one plane ride away from somewhere where polio is still active.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is polio still a concern? Anti-vaccine claims question its severity and vaccine necessity, but history and science reveal the truth. Learn why polio vaccination remains vital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","jtf_topic_subjects":[198,218],"class_list":["post-11725","jtf_topics","type-jtf_topics","status-publish","hentry","jtf_topic_subjects-polio","jtf_topic_subjects-vaccine-safety","entry","no-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/11725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/jtf_topics"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/11725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11728,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/11725\/revisions\/11728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jtf_topic_subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topic_subjects?post=11725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}