New Polio Vaccine Administered in 31 Countries

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that often impacts children. And to reduce poliovirus transmission, 31 countries have been administering a new vaccine in Africa.

Since 2022, the World Health Organization has recommended the nOPV2 vaccine when responding to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 outbreaks in Africa.

As of late June 2023, over 670 million people have been vaccinated with this vaccine.

This single-dose vaccine has been 'triple-locked' using genetic engineering to prevent it from becoming harmful. As a result, nOPV2 is reported to be genetically more stable than existing oral polio vaccines, with a lower risk of reversion to neurovirulence.

As of July 1, 2023, the nOPV2 vaccine is not offered in the U.S.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative recently published nOPV2 Frequently Asked Questions, Fact Sheet, and polio outbreak country list. 

And the WHO reconfirmed on May 12, 2023, poliovirus outbreaks remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.