First, we need to get the facts straight about the current outbreak: While only one man in Rockland Country, New York, has so far been paralyzed by the virus, this case is likely the tip of the iceberg. The re-emergence of this virus, which last spread in the United States in 1979, is certainly cause for concern – the virus is 2-3 times more virulent than the original strain of COVID-19 and paralyzes 1 in 200 people it infects (about 1 in 4 will experience flu-like symptoms). Already in the 1940s, 35,000 Americans are disabled a year, and there is no way to cure paralysis once someone is infected. In particularly severe cases, poliomyelitis can cause death, as the muscles that control breathing become paralyzed and the patient suffocates. Since that case came to light, sewage tests in neighboring Orange County and New York have shown a spread. (London and Jerusalem have also found evidence of the virus.) Humanity has been dealing with the polio virus for millennia, yet the strain of this ancient virus making the rounds in New York City is relatively new. The virus in question is a mutated vaccine-derived polio virus, meaning its ancestor is used to vaccinate people around the world (except the US) in the form of a drink. Oral vaccination with an “attenuated” or near-harmless virus has rare side effects (including paralysis, but less than a 1 percent lifetime chance of being struck by lightning). This vaccination technique is still used in other countries because it is cheap, easy to store and distribute, and can immunize others in the community as the weakened virus infects and provides immunity to unvaccinated individuals. We stopped using this very cheap but effective method in the US in 2000, mainly because of these rare side effects. All polio vaccinations in the US are now a series of four shots given to children 2 months to 6 years of age that contain only the dead (inactivated) virus that cannot replicate or cause paralysis. It is especially important to vaccinate children, as they are at the highest risk of paralysis from the virus. In the Rockland County case, it appears that the unfortunate patient was an unvaccinated person with recent contacts from foreign countries where the oral vaccination technique is still used. The weakened vaccine-derived virus had spread and multiplied among unvaccinated people in a country with less robust polio vaccination rates than in the United States. Somewhere in this replication, the vaccine-derived virus mutated and redeveloped the ability to paralyze. The fact that its genetic material has been found on three continents suggests that it has retained the virulence of its ancestors. Since the virus came from a vaccine, why should people be vaccinated? First, the current standard US series of inactivated poliovirus (IPV) vaccines cannot cause infection or paralysis and is routinely given to infants across the country. Second, the IPV shot line protects against paralysis if a person comes in contact with this new virus at rates greater than 99 percent. Finally, high vaccination rates in a community can lead to herd immunity, where a virus is unable to spread an outbreak because most people are already immune. Herd immunity is a supralocal phenomenon and requires more than 80 percent of people in a community to be immune to prevent an outbreak. Fewer than half of New York counties with available data have children vaccinated at this 80% rate. And we have communities across America with much lower vaccination rates – the overall polio vaccination rate in New York State is actually higher than the national average. Understandably, it would be easy for those on either side of the political aisle to twist the story of a vaccine-derived virus to advance their own agenda. A narrative about a vaccine-derived virus causing harm has the potential to further mistrust and if misrepresented could further damage vaccination rates in this country. The public health community in this country must take action against this eventuality with a single, honest and clear explanation of how this infection arose and how to prevent its spread. Our childhood vaccination rates have been on a downward trend since before COVID. Misinformation and disinformation during this pandemic, largely promoted by licensed medical professionals, may contribute to even lower rates in the future. The fields of science, public health, and medicine need to act together and not allow this kind of malicious vaccine “skepticism” to proliferate in the mainstream debate if we are to keep preventable infectious diseases at bay. this country. The usefulness of childhood vaccines is a settled issue among public health experts. Vaccines save lives and do so at rates that easily justify their comparatively minimal cost. Even as we face this new threat, there are state legislatures that want to give parents even more freedom not to vaccinate their children. It is time to frame our message in a way that reflects the invaluable health benefits that vaccines provide for our country each year. Polio does not consider political beliefs before it destroys a host. It has infected Republicans as high-ranking as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrats as powerful as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This outbreak has yet to receive the news coverage it deserves, which is a shame, but also an opportunity to get the story right: As with COVID, US vaccines work remarkably well and can save untold numbers of people from suffering and even death.
title: “Polio Is Back. Trust Vaccines. Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-26” author: “Joseph Gibler”
First, we need to get the facts straight about the current outbreak: While only one man in Rockland Country, New York, has so far been paralyzed by the virus, this case is likely the tip of the iceberg. The re-emergence of this virus, which last spread in the United States in 1979, is certainly cause for concern – the virus is 2-3 times more virulent than the original strain of COVID-19 and paralyzes 1 in 200 people it infects (about 1 in 4 will experience flu-like symptoms). Already in the 1940s, 35,000 Americans are disabled a year, and there is no way to cure paralysis once someone is infected. In particularly severe cases, poliomyelitis can cause death, as the muscles that control breathing become paralyzed and the patient suffocates. Since that case came to light, sewage tests in neighboring Orange County and New York have shown a spread. (London and Jerusalem have also found evidence of the virus.) Humanity has been dealing with the polio virus for millennia, yet the strain of this ancient virus making the rounds in New York City is relatively new. The virus in question is a mutated vaccine-derived polio virus, meaning its ancestor is used to vaccinate people around the world (except the US) in the form of a drink. Oral vaccination with an “attenuated” or near-harmless virus has rare side effects (including paralysis, but less than a 1 percent lifetime chance of being struck by lightning). This vaccination technique is still used in other countries because it is cheap, easy to store and distribute, and can immunize others in the community as the weakened virus infects and provides immunity to unvaccinated individuals. We stopped using this very cheap but effective method in the US in 2000, mainly because of these rare side effects. All polio vaccinations in the US are now a series of four shots given to children 2 months to 6 years of age that contain only the dead (inactivated) virus that cannot replicate or cause paralysis. It is especially important to vaccinate children, as they are at the highest risk of paralysis from the virus. In the Rockland County case, it appears that the unfortunate patient was an unvaccinated person with recent contacts from foreign countries where the oral vaccination technique is still used. The weakened vaccine-derived virus had spread and multiplied among unvaccinated people in a country with less robust polio vaccination rates than in the United States. Somewhere in this replication, the vaccine-derived virus mutated and redeveloped the ability to paralyze. The fact that its genetic material has been found on three continents suggests that it has retained the virulence of its ancestors. Since the virus came from a vaccine, why should people be vaccinated? First, the current standard US series of inactivated poliovirus (IPV) vaccines cannot cause infection or paralysis and is routinely given to infants across the country. Second, the IPV shot line protects against paralysis if a person comes in contact with this new virus at rates greater than 99 percent. Finally, high vaccination rates in a community can lead to herd immunity, where a virus is unable to spread an outbreak because most people are already immune. Herd immunity is a supralocal phenomenon and requires more than 80 percent of people in a community to be immune to prevent an outbreak. Fewer than half of New York counties with available data have children vaccinated at this 80% rate. And we have communities across America with much lower vaccination rates – the overall polio vaccination rate in New York State is actually higher than the national average. Understandably, it would be easy for those on either side of the political aisle to twist the story of a vaccine-derived virus to advance their own agenda. A narrative about a vaccine-derived virus causing harm has the potential to further mistrust and if misrepresented could further damage vaccination rates in this country. The public health community in this country must take action against this eventuality with a single, honest and clear explanation of how this infection arose and how to prevent its spread. Our childhood vaccination rates have been on a downward trend since before COVID. Misinformation and disinformation during this pandemic, largely promoted by licensed medical professionals, may contribute to even lower rates in the future. The fields of science, public health, and medicine need to act together and not allow this kind of malicious vaccine “skepticism” to proliferate in the mainstream debate if we are to keep preventable infectious diseases at bay. this country. The usefulness of childhood vaccines is a settled issue among public health experts. Vaccines save lives and do so at rates that easily justify their comparatively minimal cost. Even as we face this new threat, there are state legislatures that want to give parents even more freedom not to vaccinate their children. It is time to frame our message in a way that reflects the invaluable health benefits that vaccines provide for our country each year. Polio does not consider political beliefs before it destroys a host. It has infected Republicans as high-ranking as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrats as powerful as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This outbreak has yet to receive the news coverage it deserves, which is a shame, but also an opportunity to get the story right: As with COVID, US vaccines work remarkably well and can save untold numbers of people from suffering and even death.
title: “Polio Is Back. Trust Vaccines. Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-11” author: “Charley Summitt”
First, we need to get the facts straight about the current outbreak: While only one man in Rockland Country, New York, has so far been paralyzed by the virus, this case is likely the tip of the iceberg. The re-emergence of this virus, which last spread in the United States in 1979, is certainly cause for concern – the virus is 2-3 times more virulent than the original strain of COVID-19 and paralyzes 1 in 200 people it infects (about 1 in 4 will experience flu-like symptoms). Already in the 1940s, 35,000 Americans are disabled a year, and there is no way to cure paralysis once someone is infected. In particularly severe cases, poliomyelitis can cause death, as the muscles that control breathing become paralyzed and the patient suffocates. Since that case came to light, sewage tests in neighboring Orange County and New York have shown a spread. (London and Jerusalem have also found evidence of the virus.) Humanity has been dealing with the polio virus for millennia, yet the strain of this ancient virus making the rounds in New York City is relatively new. The virus in question is a mutated vaccine-derived polio virus, meaning its ancestor is used to vaccinate people around the world (except the US) in the form of a drink. Oral vaccination with an “attenuated” or near-harmless virus has rare side effects (including paralysis, but less than a 1 percent lifetime chance of being struck by lightning). This vaccination technique is still used in other countries because it is cheap, easy to store and distribute, and can immunize others in the community as the weakened virus infects and provides immunity to unvaccinated individuals. We stopped using this very cheap but effective method in the US in 2000, mainly because of these rare side effects. All polio vaccinations in the US are now a series of four shots given to children 2 months to 6 years of age that contain only the dead (inactivated) virus that cannot replicate or cause paralysis. It is especially important to vaccinate children, as they are at the highest risk of paralysis from the virus. In the Rockland County case, it appears that the unfortunate patient was an unvaccinated person with recent contacts from foreign countries where the oral vaccination technique is still used. The weakened vaccine-derived virus had spread and multiplied among unvaccinated people in a country with less robust polio vaccination rates than in the United States. Somewhere in this replication, the vaccine-derived virus mutated and redeveloped the ability to paralyze. The fact that its genetic material has been found on three continents suggests that it has retained the virulence of its ancestors. Since the virus came from a vaccine, why should people be vaccinated? First, the current standard US series of inactivated poliovirus (IPV) vaccines cannot cause infection or paralysis and is routinely given to infants across the country. Second, the IPV shot line protects against paralysis if a person comes in contact with this new virus at rates greater than 99 percent. Finally, high vaccination rates in a community can lead to herd immunity, where a virus is unable to spread an outbreak because most people are already immune. Herd immunity is a supralocal phenomenon and requires more than 80 percent of people in a community to be immune to prevent an outbreak. Fewer than half of New York counties with available data have children vaccinated at this 80% rate. And we have communities across America with much lower vaccination rates – the overall polio vaccination rate in New York State is actually higher than the national average. Understandably, it would be easy for those on either side of the political aisle to twist the story of a vaccine-derived virus to advance their own agenda. A narrative about a vaccine-derived virus causing harm has the potential to further mistrust and if misrepresented could further damage vaccination rates in this country. The public health community in this country must take action against this eventuality with a single, honest and clear explanation of how this infection arose and how to prevent its spread. Our childhood vaccination rates have been on a downward trend since before COVID. Misinformation and disinformation during this pandemic, largely promoted by licensed medical professionals, may contribute to even lower rates in the future. The fields of science, public health, and medicine need to act together and not allow this kind of malicious vaccine “skepticism” to proliferate in the mainstream debate if we are to keep preventable infectious diseases at bay. this country. The usefulness of childhood vaccines is a settled issue among public health experts. Vaccines save lives and do so at rates that easily justify their comparatively minimal cost. Even as we face this new threat, there are state legislatures that want to give parents even more freedom not to vaccinate their children. It is time to frame our message in a way that reflects the invaluable health benefits that vaccines provide for our country each year. Polio does not consider political beliefs before it destroys a host. It has infected Republicans as high-ranking as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrats as powerful as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This outbreak has yet to receive the news coverage it deserves, which is a shame, but also an opportunity to get the story right: As with COVID, US vaccines work remarkably well and can save untold numbers of people from suffering and even death.
title: “Polio Is Back. Trust Vaccines. Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Dennis Posey”
First, we need to get the facts straight about the current outbreak: While only one man in Rockland Country, New York, has so far been paralyzed by the virus, this case is likely the tip of the iceberg. The re-emergence of this virus, which last spread in the United States in 1979, is certainly cause for concern – the virus is 2-3 times more virulent than the original strain of COVID-19 and paralyzes 1 in 200 people it infects (about 1 in 4 will experience flu-like symptoms). Already in the 1940s, 35,000 Americans are disabled a year, and there is no way to cure paralysis once someone is infected. In particularly severe cases, poliomyelitis can cause death, as the muscles that control breathing become paralyzed and the patient suffocates. Since that case came to light, sewage tests in neighboring Orange County and New York have shown a spread. (London and Jerusalem have also found evidence of the virus.) Humanity has been dealing with the polio virus for millennia, yet the strain of this ancient virus making the rounds in New York City is relatively new. The virus in question is a mutated vaccine-derived polio virus, meaning its ancestor is used to vaccinate people around the world (except the US) in the form of a drink. Oral vaccination with an “attenuated” or near-harmless virus has rare side effects (including paralysis, but less than a 1 percent lifetime chance of being struck by lightning). This vaccination technique is still used in other countries because it is cheap, easy to store and distribute, and can immunize others in the community as the weakened virus infects and provides immunity to unvaccinated individuals. We stopped using this very cheap but effective method in the US in 2000, mainly because of these rare side effects. All polio vaccinations in the US are now a series of four shots given to children 2 months to 6 years of age that contain only the dead (inactivated) virus that cannot replicate or cause paralysis. It is especially important to vaccinate children, as they are at the highest risk of paralysis from the virus. In the Rockland County case, it appears that the unfortunate patient was an unvaccinated person with recent contacts from foreign countries where the oral vaccination technique is still used. The weakened vaccine-derived virus had spread and multiplied among unvaccinated people in a country with less robust polio vaccination rates than in the United States. Somewhere in this replication, the vaccine-derived virus mutated and redeveloped the ability to paralyze. The fact that its genetic material has been found on three continents suggests that it has retained the virulence of its ancestors. Since the virus came from a vaccine, why should people be vaccinated? First, the current standard US series of inactivated poliovirus (IPV) vaccines cannot cause infection or paralysis and is routinely given to infants across the country. Second, the IPV shot line protects against paralysis if a person comes in contact with this new virus at rates greater than 99 percent. Finally, high vaccination rates in a community can lead to herd immunity, where a virus is unable to spread an outbreak because most people are already immune. Herd immunity is a supralocal phenomenon and requires more than 80 percent of people in a community to be immune to prevent an outbreak. Fewer than half of New York counties with available data have children vaccinated at this 80% rate. And we have communities across America with much lower vaccination rates – the overall polio vaccination rate in New York State is actually higher than the national average. Understandably, it would be easy for those on either side of the political aisle to twist the story of a vaccine-derived virus to advance their own agenda. A narrative about a vaccine-derived virus causing harm has the potential to further mistrust and if misrepresented could further damage vaccination rates in this country. The public health community in this country must take action against this eventuality with a single, honest and clear explanation of how this infection arose and how to prevent its spread. Our childhood vaccination rates have been on a downward trend since before COVID. Misinformation and disinformation during this pandemic, largely promoted by licensed medical professionals, may contribute to even lower rates in the future. The fields of science, public health, and medicine need to act together and not allow this kind of malicious vaccine “skepticism” to proliferate in the mainstream debate if we are to keep preventable infectious diseases at bay. this country. The usefulness of childhood vaccines is a settled issue among public health experts. Vaccines save lives and do so at rates that easily justify their comparatively minimal cost. Even as we face this new threat, there are state legislatures that want to give parents even more freedom not to vaccinate their children. It is time to frame our message in a way that reflects the invaluable health benefits that vaccines provide for our country each year. Polio does not consider political beliefs before it destroys a host. It has infected Republicans as high-ranking as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrats as powerful as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This outbreak has yet to receive the news coverage it deserves, which is a shame, but also an opportunity to get the story right: As with COVID, US vaccines work remarkably well and can save untold numbers of people from suffering and even death.
title: “Polio Is Back. Trust Vaccines. Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-31” author: “Ines Barber”
First, we need to get the facts straight about the current outbreak: While only one man in Rockland Country, New York, has so far been paralyzed by the virus, this case is likely the tip of the iceberg. The re-emergence of this virus, which last spread in the United States in 1979, is certainly cause for concern – the virus is 2-3 times more virulent than the original strain of COVID-19 and paralyzes 1 in 200 people it infects (about 1 in 4 will experience flu-like symptoms). Already in the 1940s, 35,000 Americans are disabled a year, and there is no way to cure paralysis once someone is infected. In particularly severe cases, poliomyelitis can cause death, as the muscles that control breathing become paralyzed and the patient suffocates. Since that case came to light, sewage tests in neighboring Orange County and New York have shown a spread. (London and Jerusalem have also found evidence of the virus.) Humanity has been dealing with the polio virus for millennia, yet the strain of this ancient virus making the rounds in New York City is relatively new. The virus in question is a mutated vaccine-derived polio virus, meaning its ancestor is used to vaccinate people around the world (except the US) in the form of a drink. Oral vaccination with an “attenuated” or near-harmless virus has rare side effects (including paralysis, but less than a 1 percent lifetime chance of being struck by lightning). This vaccination technique is still used in other countries because it is cheap, easy to store and distribute, and can immunize others in the community as the weakened virus infects and provides immunity to unvaccinated individuals. We stopped using this very cheap but effective method in the US in 2000, mainly because of these rare side effects. All polio vaccinations in the US are now a series of four shots given to children 2 months to 6 years of age that contain only the dead (inactivated) virus that cannot replicate or cause paralysis. It is especially important to vaccinate children, as they are at the highest risk of paralysis from the virus. In the Rockland County case, it appears that the unfortunate patient was an unvaccinated person with recent contacts from foreign countries where the oral vaccination technique is still used. The weakened vaccine-derived virus had spread and multiplied among unvaccinated people in a country with less robust polio vaccination rates than in the United States. Somewhere in this replication, the vaccine-derived virus mutated and redeveloped the ability to paralyze. The fact that its genetic material has been found on three continents suggests that it has retained the virulence of its ancestors. Since the virus came from a vaccine, why should people be vaccinated? First, the current standard US series of inactivated poliovirus (IPV) vaccines cannot cause infection or paralysis and is routinely given to infants across the country. Second, the IPV shot line protects against paralysis if a person comes in contact with this new virus at rates greater than 99 percent. Finally, high vaccination rates in a community can lead to herd immunity, where a virus is unable to spread an outbreak because most people are already immune. Herd immunity is a supralocal phenomenon and requires more than 80 percent of people in a community to be immune to prevent an outbreak. Fewer than half of New York counties with available data have children vaccinated at this 80% rate. And we have communities across America with much lower vaccination rates – the overall polio vaccination rate in New York State is actually higher than the national average. Understandably, it would be easy for those on either side of the political aisle to twist the story of a vaccine-derived virus to advance their own agenda. A narrative about a vaccine-derived virus causing harm has the potential to further mistrust and if misrepresented could further damage vaccination rates in this country. The public health community in this country must take action against this eventuality with a single, honest and clear explanation of how this infection arose and how to prevent its spread. Our childhood vaccination rates have been on a downward trend since before COVID. Misinformation and disinformation during this pandemic, largely promoted by licensed medical professionals, may contribute to even lower rates in the future. The fields of science, public health, and medicine need to act together and not allow this kind of malicious vaccine “skepticism” to proliferate in the mainstream debate if we are to keep preventable infectious diseases at bay. this country. The usefulness of childhood vaccines is a settled issue among public health experts. Vaccines save lives and do so at rates that easily justify their comparatively minimal cost. Even as we face this new threat, there are state legislatures that want to give parents even more freedom not to vaccinate their children. It is time to frame our message in a way that reflects the invaluable health benefits that vaccines provide for our country each year. Polio does not consider political beliefs before it destroys a host. It has infected Republicans as high-ranking as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrats as powerful as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This outbreak has yet to receive the news coverage it deserves, which is a shame, but also an opportunity to get the story right: As with COVID, US vaccines work remarkably well and can save untold numbers of people from suffering and even death.
