“These diseases can now be prevented with vaccines”: Similarities between polio and COVID-19

Sunday was the day of World Polio in the midst of it COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) Pandemics, and doctors, remind us of the similarities between highly infectious and catastrophic illnesses that prevailed in the first half of 20 years.^NS A century and highly contagious coronavirus.

“Both of these diseases are caused by the virus, and both of these diseases can now be prevented with vaccines,” said Dr. Matthew Chow, Doctor of President of BC.

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Some people are still reluctant to fire, as the number of eligible British Columbia residents receiving a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine slowly rises to 84%.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Brian Conway said there was similar hesitation when the polio vaccine was first introduced in the 1950s.

“Today we don’t even doubt that it’s part of the vaccine given shortly after birth,” said the medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Center.

“We don’t have a COVID yet.”

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Like COVID-19, polio was spread in the air by people without the symptoms of talking, coughing, or sneezing.

NS Viral disease It hits children under the age of 5 most strongly, invades the nervous system and causes paralysis and breathing problems.

Many victims needed the help of an iron lung to continue breathing, while others had to use crutches or metal braces after suffering permanent nerve damage.

When Dr. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine in 1955, Conway said there was fierce resistance at first.

“When new products, including polio vaccines, are launched in the 1950s, there is a proportion of the skeptical population,” he said.

At that time, the public had reason to question its effectiveness. The polio vaccine was safe, but the California-based Cutter Laboratories failed to produce it properly, with fatal consequences.

Despite saying in April 1955 that the CDC had passed the required safety tests, some batches of vaccines provided to the public contained live poliovirus.

Thousands of children were infected with polio, 200 remained paralyzed and 10 died.

CDC said Cutter case This was “a decisive moment in the history of vaccine production and government surveillance” and led to the creation of a better system for regulating vaccines.

“To explain to people that this is a bad batch of vaccines, polio vaccination is far more effective than dangerous and persuaded everyone to vaccinate slowly but surely,” Conway said. Told Global News.

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Today, polio is a great example of how vaccines are the key way to control and ultimately eliminate a variety of diseases, Conway said.

Canada, along with other Americas, was recognized as a polio-free country in 1994.

“I have never seen a case of polio. I hope I have never seen a case of polio,” Dr. Birder Narang, a clinical assistant professor at the UBC School of Home Medicine, told Global News.

According to BCCDC, polio has occurred in our state within the last 30 years only for unvaccinated residents who have come into contact with foreign visitors infected with polio.

“The success of the poliovirus vaccine has actually led to the eradication of two of the three predominant strains in the world,” Naran said.

according to World Health OrganizationWild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 1999, and wild poliovirus type 3 has not been found since the last reported case in Nigeria in November 2012.

As of 2020, wild poliovirus type 1 is affecting Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Chow described the de facto eradication of polio by vaccination as one of the greatest victories in modern medicine and public health.

“Many people who refuse to vaccinate with COVID-19 are actually now enjoying the benefits of vaccination,” he added.

That’s because they have been vaccinated as children before and benefit from billions of people around the world who are vaccinated against a variety of illnesses, including polio. is.

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