{"id":15287,"date":"2025-10-23T18:02:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T23:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/?post_type=jtf_topics&#038;p=15287"},"modified":"2026-01-05T13:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T19:01:12","slug":"did-vaccines-really-eradicate-polio","status":"publish","type":"jtf_topics","link":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/jtf_topics\/did-vaccines-really-eradicate-polio\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Vaccines Really Eliminate Polio?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row source=&#8221;&#8221; text=&#8221;Clinical Trials&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; google_fonts=&#8221;font_family:Abril%20Fatface%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal&#8221; link=&#8221;&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1708910874436{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;The Claim:&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h3|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]In a different\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ChildrensHD\/status\/1978234766412447928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video<\/a>, Gavin de Becker claims that polio didn\u2019t disappear because of vaccines, that most new polio cases come from the vaccine itself, and that people should decide for themselves whether to get the vaccine.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;The Facts:&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h3|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]The reason polio was wiped out in the United States is mostly because of vaccines. In the 1950s, scientists made the first polio vaccine, which was a huge step forward in medicine. These vaccines worked very well to stop the spread of polio. They helped kids live normal lives again and gave parents peace of mind.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1988, scientists and health organizations around the world have worked together in a global effort to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/polioeradication.org\/about-polio\/history-of-polio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">end<\/a>\u00a0polio so that no person ever catches it again. They\u2019ve done this by giving\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.emro.who.int\/polio-eradication\/about-eradication\/immunization.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vaccines<\/a>\u00a0to millions of people and keeping close watch for new cases. Because of this work, polio cases around the world have\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/dropped\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dropped<\/a>\u00a0by 99%.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true that not every child in the world has been vaccinated, since some people don\u2019t have easy access to vaccines. But polio is caused by a virus, and it can only spread if someone is already infected. Thanks to the global vaccination effort, wild polio now exists in only two countries. This means that the number of deaths from polio is very low\u2014both in vaccinated and unvaccinated people\u2014because there are so few cases left.<\/p>\n<p>Even though polio is almost gone, we still give the polio vaccine. That\u2019s because diseases can travel fast. For example, in 2022, there was a polio\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC10468811\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outbreak<\/a>\u00a0in New York, showing that the virus can return if people aren\u2019t protected.<\/p>\n<p>De Becker also talks about measles, saying that the death rate is the same for vaccinated and unvaccinated people\u2014but that\u2019s not true. In places where most people are vaccinated, measles deaths are almost unheard of. But in 2023, there were an estimated 107,500 measles\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/measles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">deaths<\/a>\u00a0worldwide, mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under 5 years old.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gavin de Becker claims vaccines didn\u2019t end polio and may even cause it. Learn the real story behind polio\u2019s near-eradication, vaccine safety, and why we still vaccinate today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","jtf_topic_subjects":[198,218],"class_list":["post-15287","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\/15287","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":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/15287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15514,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/15287\/revisions\/15514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jtf_topic_subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topic_subjects?post=15287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}