The Next Big Disease Eradication is Here

The inactivated polio vaccine(IPV) and the oral polio vaccine(OPV). What’s the difference? Which one should I get, or should I bother getting either at all? Let’s break it down.

So the OPV is administered orally to a patient in the form of drops. This could perhaps make it much easier to administer than the IPV which has to be delivered via injection. More so, the OPV contains live, attenuated virus, which means that in could POTENTIALLY and RARELY have the ability to cause a paralysis known as vaccine-associated paralytic polio(VAPP) and vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPVs). Interestingly enough, one study along with many more, has shown that cases of paralysis linked to OPVs now outweigh those caused by the actual disease itself. This is terrifying! Although polio has been nearly eradicated, if OPVs can actually cause polio, then what is the solution?

This is where IPV comes in. The inactivated polio vaccine delivered via injection is able to give a person an extra immunity boost and once they experience the OPVs, they will be better prepared to deal with the attenuated virus, boosting their immune system even more. According to the same study, the WHO recommended in 2016 that at least one dose of IPV should be given before routine OPVs in order to successfully reduces these VAPPs and VDPVs. On October 24, 2019, the WHO announced the successful eradication of the second strand of polio, WPV3. With their being only three strands of this virus, we are closer than ever in total world eradication. This historic public health victory gives the world a sense of hope in eliminating this disease for good.

Just how close are we to successfully deleting this disease from the world? Very, very close. As of last week, the Polio Global Eradication Initiative has shown that there has been over 10 WPVs and 12VDPVs. However, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has announced that “Polio is one of the few diseases we can eradicate in the world in the next few years.” This is a huge announcement and shows the dedication that the leaders in the world have to tackle this battle. I believe that in order for this disease to successfully disappear, we need cooperation from all. This means political and cultural differences will need to step down in order to reach a greater good in the world. No more polio; we can all help to fight this war and eliminate this disease for good!