What you need to know before you or your child get the vaccine About the disease Polio is a serious disease. It spreads when germs pass from an infected person to the mouths of others.
Vaccination is the best way to protect against polio.
Because most children get the polio vaccines, there are now very few cases of this disease. Before most children were vaccinated, there were thousands of cases of polio. There are 2 kinds of polio vaccine OPV or O ral P olio V accine is the one most often given to children. It is given by mouth as drops. IPV or I nactivated P olio V accine is given as a shot in the leg or arm.