Polio vaccine: know its benefits, schedule and side effects

Polio is a contagious disease caused by the polio virus which attacks the central nervous system and causes damage to the motor nervous system. This can result in temporary, even permanent, paralysis of the muscles. There is no cure for this disease, but it can be prevented by immunizing children with polio. How does the polio vaccine work and are there any side effects?

What is polio immunization?

The function and benefits of polio immunization are preventing polio or wilted paralysis which can cause paralysis and even potentially cause death.

Polio is included in the immunization of children that must be given before the baby is 6 months old, along with the hepatitis B, DPT, and HiB vaccines. Polio immunization is also included in the list of immunizations that must be repeated, such as the MMR vaccine.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains on its official website that this disease is caused by the polio virus which attacks the brain and spinal cord.

The result of this disease is the inability to move certain body parts, usually occurs in one or even both legs.

There are two types of polio vaccines given to children, namely the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and the injectable polio vaccine (IPV), what makes the difference?

Oral polio vaccine (OPV)

Quoting from the official website of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), polio immunization that is dripped in the mouth or orally is a polio virus that is still active, but has been weakened.

This makes it able to reproduce in the intestines and can stimulate the intestines and blood, to form immune substances (antibodies) against the wild polio virus.

What does the wild polio virus mean? This means that if a wild polio virus enters the baby's intestine, the wild polio virus will be killed by antibodies that are formed in the intestines and blood.

Technically, oral polio immunization serves to prevent the wild polio virus from reproducing so as not to endanger babies and transmit to other children.

Injectable polio vaccine (IPV)

What is injectable polio immunization? Injectable polio vaccine, contains polio virus that is no longer active (dead) so that this immunization is often called Inactive Polio Vaccine (IPV).

Still according to IDAI, the way the injectable polio vaccine works is that the dead polio virus cannot reproduce in the intestine and does not create immunity in the intestine, but immunity can still occur in the blood.

This allows the wild polio virus to reproduce in the intestines, without making the child feel sick because there is immunity in the blood.

But this is a bad thing because the wild polio virus still reproduces in the intestines and can spread through feces or feces to other children. This makes children more likely to get polio.

In areas where the transmission or transfer of wild polio virus is still high, oral polio vaccine (OPV) must be given to babies so that their intestines can kill the wild polio virus and stop its spread.

Children who are late in immunization can make the spread of this disease wider.

Who needs to get the polio vaccine?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends giving children polio immunization 4 times with intervals or breaks every one month.

However, it is not only children who need to be given this immunization, polio immunization also needs to be given to adults. The following is the guide and explanation.

Babies and children

Based on the schedule table for the immunization of children from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), polio immunization is carried out 4 times since a newborn, namely:

Infants aged 0-1 months
2 month old baby
3 month old baby
4 month old baby
Adolescents aged 18 years (booster or repetition)

For newborns, he gets the oral polio vaccine (OPV), then the next polio immunization can be given an injection (IPV) or OPV again. Basically, children need to get one IPV immunization.

Feeding (either breast milk or formula) can be given after oral immunization has been completed. Colostrum, which is contained in breast milk, has high antibodies that can bind to the oral polio vaccine, so it can work optimally.

Oral polio vaccine (OPV) must be given to children aged 0-59 months, even though they have previously received the same immunization. This is what makes WHO in collaboration with the Ministry of Health organize National Polio Immunization Week every year.

Adults

Most adults do not need the polio vaccine because they received this immunization as a child.

However, there are three groups of adults who are at high risk of getting polio and need to consider getting a polio vaccine, based on the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), namely:

Travel to a country with a high polio rate.
Work in a laboratory and handle cases containing the polio virus.
Health workers who care for patients or have close contact with people with polio.

These three groups, including those who have never received polio immunization at all, must receive 3 times the injected polio vaccine (IPV), with details:

The first injection can be done at any time.
The second injection is carried out 1-2 months after the first injection.
The third injection is carried out 6-12 months after the second injection.

For adults who have received 1-2 previous immunizations for polio, only need to do one or two re-immunizations. This does not depend on the lag time the first immunization is carried out.

If adults are at risk of being exposed to the polio virus and have received complete immunizations, both oral and injected, they can get IPV immunization as booster. Polio immunization schedule booster this can be done at any time and is valid for life.

Are there any conditions that cause someone to delay giving the polio vaccine?

Polio immunization is an effort to prevent diseases that attack the nervous system and human muscles. Although the benefits are many, there are several conditions that make children need to delay or even not be given the polio vaccine, namely:

Deadly allergies

If your child has allergies that are so severe that they can be life threatening due to ingredients in the vaccine, it is advisable not to get polio immunization. These dangerous allergies (anaphylactic) include:

Difficulty breathing
Fast heart rate
Severe fatigue
Breath sounds

Consult your doctor or other medical personnel if your child has a very dangerous allergy to certain types of drugs.

Suffering from mild illness (not feeling well)

Immunizations cannot be given when your child has a minor illness, such as a cough, cold or fever. The doctor will advise you to postpone the vaccine and ask you to come when your little one is healthy.

However, IDAI recommends that children who have a cold cough without fever can still get oral polio immunization (OPV), but not for IPV.

Polio vaccine side effects

Similar to the performance of drugs, immunization also has an impact and influence after administration. However, the side effects of immunization tend to be mild and can go away on their own.

The following are minor side effects after the polio vaccine:

Low-grade fever after immunization
Pain at the injection site
Crusting of the skin at the injection site

The impact of polio immunization above can disappear by itself within 2-3 days, so you don't have to worry about your child getting sick after immunization. However, in very rare cases, polio immunization has quite severe side effects, namely:

Pain in the shoulder
Fainting
Severe allergic reactions that occur minutes or hours after being immunized

These cases are very rare, the ratio is 1 in 1 million vaccines. Allergic reactions that occur are usually such as shortness of breath, fast heartbeat, very severe fatigue, to wheezing.

When to see a doctor

You need to consult a doctor when your child experiences serious side effects after giving the polio vaccine. Here are some conditions that make you need to consult a doctor, quoting from the Family Doctor:

Rash on the skin (itching to the skin like burning)
Experiencing breathing problems
Cold, damp, sweaty body
Loss of consciousness

When consulting the doctor, tell him that your child has just received polio immunization, so that it can be handled appropriately according to the conditions.

However, it must be understood that the benefits of immunization outweigh the side effects, so it is important to give it to your little one. The reason is, children who are not immunized are more susceptible to dangerous diseases.