Polio vaccination

Text messages and letters from local GPs and NHS South West London have been sent to parents of 1 to 9 year olds inviting them to book a vaccination appointment for their child or children.

Parents with children aged between 1 and 4 will be offered an appointment at their GP practice.

Parents with children aged between 5 and 9 years old can book an appointment at a vaccination clinic.

What is polio?

Polio is an infection caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system – it can cause permanent paralysis of muscles. Before the polio vaccine was introduced, there were as many as 8,000 cases of polio in the UK in epidemic years. Because of the success of the polio vaccination programme, there have been no cases of natural polio infection in the UK for over 30 years (the last case was in 1984) and polio was eradicated from the whole of Europe in 2003.

How is polio spread?

Polio is caused by a virus that spreads easily from person to person. It usually spreads through contact with the poo of an infected person. For example, from not washing your hands properly and putting them in your mouth, or from contaminated food or water. It can also spread through coughs or sneezes, but this is less common. Your chance of getting polio in the UK is extremely low. This is because most people are fully vaccinated. Polio was eradicated in Europe in 2003. There's still an extremely small risk of catching it when travelling in a country where polio is still found, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. If you're not vaccinated, there is also a very small risk of getting it through contact with a person bringing the polio virus from these countries when they return to the UK.

Symptoms of polio

Most people who get polio do not have symptoms. Some people get mild, flu-like symptoms, such as:

• a high temperature
• extreme tiredness (fatigue)
• headaches
• being sick (vomiting)
• a stiff neck
• muscle pain

These symptoms usually last up to 10 days. Rarely, polio can lead to more serious symptoms that affect the brain and nerves, such as weakness in your muscles (paralysis), usually in the legs. This can happen over hours or days. If the paralysis affects the muscles used for breathing, it can be life threatening. Most people will recover, and movement will slowly come back over the next few weeks. Some people can be left with permanent disability.

Treatments for polio

There is no treatment for polio, but some types of care will help lower the risk of long-term problems.

This can include:

• bed rest in hospital
• painkillers
• help with breathing
• regular stretches and exercises to prevent problems with your muscles and joints

You may need to have specialist help such as physiotherapy or surgery if you have any long-term problems caused by polio.

Complications of polio

Polio can cause long-term or lifelong difficulties. Some people may be permanently paralysed, and others may have problems that need long-term treatment and support.

This can include:

• muscle weakness
• problems with your joints
• swallowing difficulties (dysphagia)

If you've had polio before, you may develop symptoms again or your symptoms may get worse, sometimes decades later. This is called post-polio syndrome.

Why are children in London being offered a polio dose?

There are signs the virus is spreading in London and the number of children vaccinated in London is lower than it should be. Boosting immunity in children should help protect them and reduce the risk of the virus continuing to spread.

How can my child get the polio booster?

Text messages and letters GPs and NHS South West London have been sent to parents of 1 to 9 year olds inviting them to book a vaccination appointment for their child or children. 

Parents with children aged between 1 and 4 will be offered an appointment at their GP practice.

Parents with children aged between 5 and 9 years old can book an appointment at a vaccination clinic.

When would my child have been vaccinated against polio?

The polio vaccine is free and given as part of combined jabs to babies, toddlers and teenagers. Children need all five doses of the vaccine to be fully protected against polio. The polio vaccine is given when a child is:

• 8, 12 and 16 weeks old as part of the 6-in-1 vaccine
• 3 years, 4 months old as part of the 4-in-1 (DTaP/IPV) pre-school booster
• 14 years old as part of the 3-in-1 (Td/IPV) teenage booster

Is this an extra jab? Will children that need to catch up with their missed routine vaccinations then get an additional dose on top of that?

We need to protect children against polio now. Bringing a child up to date now will achieve the same effect as the offer of an additional booster.

For children that are fully up to date with their routine vaccinations, this will be an additional polio vaccine to enhance their protection against polio whilst it is being detected in wastewater samples. If your child is not up to date with their routine vaccinations, they will be given a catch-up dose so it will not be an additional dose.

What should people do to protect themselves against polio if they live in London?

In London, all children aged 1 to 9 years need to have a dose of polio vaccine now – whether it’s an extra booster dose if they are up to date with their routine vaccinations or the next dose in their routine vaccination schedule. The NHS in London will contact you when it’s your child’s turn to come forward for a booster or catch-up polio dose.

Has polio been detected outside of London?

Type 2 poliovirus has so far only been detected in North and East London. The UKHSA, working with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has enhanced the sewage surveillance to assess the extent of spread of the virus. They plan to stand up 10 -15 sites nationally to determine if poliovirus is spreading outside of London.

Can I get polio from the polio part of the vaccine?

The combined vaccines contain dead (inactivated) polio virus, which cannot cause polio.

What are the side effects of the vaccine?

Your child may have some redness, swelling or tenderness in the arm where they had the injection, this will usually disappear in a few days.

A hard lump may appear in the same place but this will also resolve on its own, usually over a few weeks. Occasionally, children may be unwell and irritable and develop a temperature and a headache.