Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

Expert Rev Vaccines 2009 Jul;8(7):899-905

Future of polio vaccines.

Ehrenfeld E, Modlin J, Chumakov K

Over the past half-century, global use of highly effective vaccines against poliomyelitis brought this disease to the brink of elimination. Mounting evidence argues that a high level of population immunity must be maintained to preserve a polio-free status of the entire world after wild poliovirus circulation is stopped. Shifting factors in the risk-benefit-cost equation favor the creation of new poliovirus vaccines to be used in the foreseeable future. Genetically stable attenuated virus strains could be developed for an improved oral poliovirus vaccine, but proving their safety and efficacy would be impractical because of the enormous size of the clinical trials required. New versions of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) that could be used globally should be developed. An improved IPV must be efficacious, inexpensive, safe to manufacture, and easy to administer. Combination products containing IPV along with other protective antigens should become part of routine childhood immunizations around the world.