Impact of Vaccines; Health, Economic and Social Perspectives

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polio disease :: Article Creator

As Polio Survivors Watch Kennedy Confirmation, All Eyes Are On McConnell

Their numbers are dwindling now, the faded yellow newspaper clippings reporting their childhood trips to the hospital tucked away in family scrapbooks. Iron lungs, the coffin-like cabinet respirators that kept many of them alive, are a thing of the past, relegated to history books and museums. Some feel the world has forgotten them.

Now the nation's polio survivors are reliving their painful memories as they watch events in Washington, where the Senate will soon consider the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a fierce critic of vaccines, to be the nation's next health secretary. And they are keeping a close eye on one of their own: Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader.

It has been nearly 70 years since Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was pronounced "80 to 90 percent effective" against the paralytic form of the disease. Although the government does not keep official numbers, advocacy groups say there are an estimated 300,000 survivors in the United States. Mr. Kennedy's nomination has prompted some to speak out.

The movie director Francis Ford Coppola recently recalled being in a hospital ward "so crammed with kids that there were gurneys piled up three and four high in the hallways." The actress Mia Farrow, infected when she was 9, posted a picture of a room filled with iron lungs on Instagram with the caption: "No RFK Jr. We cannot go back to this. # polio."

Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee, the only other polio survivor in Congress, called pointedly for the Senate to reject the nomination. "I believe I have a duty to speak out for all who have had polio — from those lightly affected to those who lived in iron lungs and died," Mr. Cohen said in a recent statement.

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Polio Virus Detected In Sewage Samples From Sindh Districts

ISLAMABAD: Poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples collected from Mirpurkhas, Thatta, and Naushahro Feroze districts in Sindh, ARY News reported.

According to sources, the samples were collected on December 23 and 24 for poliovirus testing.

The sources confirmed that the samples tested positive for Wild Poliovirus Type 1. This development comes after over 480 sewage samples tested positive for poliovirus in 2024.

This development comes as Pakistan continues to grapple with the challenge of polio eradication, with 73 polio cases reported across the country in 2024 alone.

Earlier, the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the wild poliovirus case type 1 (WPV1) in the country.

Also read: Another polio case reported in Pakistan

The lab confirmed one polio case from a female child from D.I.Khan. The onset of this case was on December 31, 2024.

D.I.Khan now reported 11 polio cases in 2024.

Pakistan has been responding to an intense resurgence of WPV1 with 72 cases reported in 2024. Of these, 27 are from Balochistan, 22 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 21 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

Polio

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.

The Pakistan Polio Program conducts multiple mass vaccination drives in a year, bringing the vaccine to children at their doorsteps, while the Expanded Program on Immunization provides vaccinations against 12 childhood disease free of charge at health facilities.

The year's first Polio vaccination campaign is scheduled to be conducted nationwide from February 3- 9, 2025.

It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected.





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