Is the polio vaccine (OPV) safe for children? Is it safe even if a child is sick?
• Yes. OPV is the safest and most effective way to protect Nigerian children from polio. • Given multiple times, OPV is safe and effective in providing protection against polio, and is the recommended vaccine for the global eradication of polio. • OPV has been administered to more than 2 billion children across 125 countries around the world as part of the eradication programme, and as part of routine immunization services in more than 200 countries. Thanks to the wide-scale administration of OPV to children everywhere, the incidence of polio has been reduced from more than 350,000 annual cases in more than 125 countries in 1988, to under 800 cases at the end of 2003. • OPV is safe to administer to all children. It is especially important to give OPV to children who may be sick with another illness, as their natural immunization levels may be particularly low.
