Extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine boosts immunity in kids

An extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) helps to boost immunity in children less than 5 years to the poliovirus and should be added to vaccination programmes in polio-endemic countries and those facing a high risk of imported cases, according to a new research.

Lead author Dr Jacob John from Christian Medical College, India said that adding a supplementary IPV dose to children already vaccinated with oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) may hasten polio eradication by boosting herd immunity in endemic regions, acted as a booster to prevent international spread by travellers, and minimise the risk of polio outbreaks due to imported wildtype or vaccine-derived polioviruses.

According to Professor Grassly, senior author of the study from Imperial College London, UK, the substantial benefit of using IPV rather than further doses of OPV to boost intestinal immunity in children within the typical age range for mass vaccination supported its use as part of the global eradication programme.

The additional IPV dose substantially boosted levels of protective antibodies in the blood and intestinal immunity against poliovirus compared with no vaccine.

Professor Kimberly Thompson from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, USA said Giving an extra dose of IPV or OPV to already OPV-vaccinated children with waned immunity will provide some incremental individual benefit.

The new research is published in The Lancet.