Polio vaccination: importance
The polio vaccination is the only effective protection against polio. Although the disease no longer occurs in Germany, there are some countries where you can catch the polio virus and fall ill. Through international travel, polio cases occasionally reach Germany. This is why the poliomyelitis vaccination is still important.
Polio vaccination: vaccines
From the 1960s until 1998, the polio vaccine was administered in Germany as an oral polio vaccine (OPV). This live vaccine contained attenuated polio viruses and was administered on a piece of sugar. Because the oral vaccine occasionally led to an outbreak of the disease (one to two cases of paralytic poliomyelitis per year), the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute changed the vaccination recommendations in 1998:
Since then, only an inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which cannot cause disease, has been used as an injection for polio vaccination. The trivalent polio vaccine is an inactivated vaccine, i.e. it contains only killed polio pathogens of all three types (hence “trivalent”).
Polio vaccination: Vaccination schedule
Since June 2020, the STIKO experts have recommended administering this combination vaccine in three partial vaccinations. The 2+1 vaccination schedule is as follows:
- The first vaccine dose is given at the age of two months.
- The second dose follows at four months.
- After seven months (at eleven months), the children receive the third polio vaccination with the six-dose vaccine.
Not all basic immunization vaccines are approved for the reduced 2+1 vaccination schedule. Therefore, if an approved vaccine is missing, doctors give the vaccination according to the 3+1 vaccination schedule (in months two, three, four and eleven)!
For premature babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy, the 3+1 vaccination schedule always applies. They receive an additional dose of vaccine in the third month of life.
If the polio vaccine is to be administered alone (as a monovalent vaccine) and not as a combination vaccine together with other vaccinations, patients receive three vaccinations for basic immunization. The timing is usually the same as for the 2+1 vaccination schedule.
Premature babies born before the 28th week of pregnancy have an increased risk of respiratory failure during the three days following a polio vaccination. They are therefore monitored during this period.
Polio vaccination booster
After the age of 18, a routine polio vaccination booster is no longer planned. A further vaccination dose is only recommended for adults whose last booster vaccination was more than ten years ago:
- Polio travel vaccination for travellers to countries with an increased risk of infection (the current reports of the World Health Organization (WHO) must be observed, primarily parts of Africa and Asia are affected)
- Resettlers, refugees and asylum seekers in communal facilities if they have traveled from regions with a polio risk
Doctors also recommend occupational polio vaccination for the following occupational groups
- Staff in community facilities
- Medical staff, especially if they have close contact with polio patients
- Staff in laboratories with a risk of poliomyelitis
Missing or incomplete basic immunization
If someone did not receive any or not all of the partial vaccinations of the basic immunization as a child or the vaccinations were not documented, the polio vaccination should be made up for or completed.
If you want to travel to endemic areas and do not have proof of a complete polio vaccination, doctors recommend at least two IPV vaccine doses before you travel. You can obtain more detailed information on this from your doctor.
Polio vaccination: duration of protection
Polio vaccination: Vaccination reactions and side effects
The six-vaccine is generally well tolerated. Sometimes a slight skin reaction (redness, swelling, pain) develops at the injection site. Neighboring lymph nodes may swell. In addition, mild general reactions such as fatigue, gastrointestinal complaints or temperature increases are possible.
High fever and bronchitis may also occur. However, such reactions to the polio vaccine combined with other vaccines usually subside one to three days after the vaccination.
Some people have an allergic reaction to components of the vaccine. Other side effects are rare.
Vaccination reactions and side effects may vary slightly depending on the combination vaccine used.
Polio vaccination: contraindications
Like all vaccinations, the polio vaccination should not be administered if someone is suffering from a febrile illness. The same applies to severe allergic reactions to the polio vaccine or any of its components.
