With universal vaccination, all preschool children of both sexes are to be vaccinated the aim of which is to control and eradicate the disease altogether. For this strategy to work, a good coverage is essential as mathematical models show that poor coverage may lead to an increase in the incidence of congenital rubella syndrome as more women of child-bearing become infected by the wild virus. Again this strategy requires good coverage. A consensus of opinion has emerged in recent years in favour of universal vaccination. Polio is one of the infections included in the EPI schedule.
Polio vaccine is given as universal vaccination in most countries, as early as just after birth.
Because of the ease of administration and the fact that it can induce local immunity, the oral Sabin vaccine is used by most countries in preference to the inactivated Salk vaccine. The latter vaccine is reserved for immunocompromized children and is used exclusively for universal vaccination in some Scandinavian countries. The reason why the inactivated vaccine is used in some countries is that the Sabin vaccine is known on rare occasions to revert to virulence and cases of paralytic polio had been reported. The fact that inactivated polio vaccine can be combined with DPT vaccine makes this an increasingly attractive option in developed countries which can afford the increased cost of this vaccine. Although mumps is usually a mild disease, it is the leading cause of aseptic meningitis and was responsible for 1500 hospital admissions in the U.K. per year.