The appearance of polio in New York means the disease could be anywhere. But you can vaccinate your way to safety
, but the average varies by borough, with Manhattan reaching 91% and Brooklyn trailing the other boroughs at 81%. Statewide vaccination rates are just below 79%.according to the CDC
“The majority of people who are infected with polio have no symptoms,” says Lipkin. “They aren’t even aware that they are infected, but they can transmit the disease.” That poses no health risk to an IPV-vaccinated person, but they can unintentionally contribute to the spread of the virus if they come into contact with it. “You do not develop polio” if you have the IPV vaccine, “because once the virus enters your blood, your immune system would take care of it,” says Racaniello. “But the virus can reproduce in your gut and you can shed it and it can end up in sewage that way.
The good news is that both polio vaccines are remarkably effective and long-lasting. If people received a full course of either vaccine as children, they do not need to get a booster now. “Anyone who has had a complete polio vaccination series does not need a booster,” says Racaniello. “Immunity to polio conferred by vaccination lasts a lifetime.” This, he stresses, is true whether you received either the IPV or the OPV in childhood.