Before polio vaccine was licensed in the 1950s, about 500,000 people a year worldwide were paralyzed or died from polio. In the decade since WHO launched the polio eradication effort, disease incidence has dropped 90 percent. It is important to continue vaccination efforts in the U.S. and worldwide. The world will be declared polio-free when no cases are found for three years after the last detected case. Be sure you have enough IPV to comply with the recommendation.
Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative found in a number of vaccines.
This summer, several guidelines and recommendations were issued to reduce the total cumulative exposure to thimerosal that babies would have during their first six months of life. It's important to realize that the risk of harm to children from thimerosal in vaccines is hypothetical. There is no scientific evidence of harm from the levels children receive from immunizations recommended. The risk of not being vaccinated is real . To help make safe vaccines even safer, the U.S. Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics asked manufacturers to develop thimerosal-free vaccines.