Polio Vaccine Switch Under Review

The Strategy Committee of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) recently announced it has commissioned a formal evaluation of the 2016 global withdrawal of the Sabin poliovirus 2 (OPV2) vaccine and switch from trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent OPV (bOPV). 

Confirmed on August 9, 2023, the evaluation aims to generate critical lessons learned from the OPV2 withdrawal to guide the direction of the GPEI (including future OPV withdrawal efforts) and secure a lasting world free of all polioviruses.

This evaluation aims to ensure an extended peer review process, with a subsequent presentation to the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization, with finalization/publication of the evaluation by mid-2024.

A Switch Evaluation team of experts has been retained to design and implement this evaluation. 

To ensure the evaluation is relevant and useful and to provide the public health community and other interested stakeholders the opportunity to contribute, the Switch Evaluation team is soliciting thoughts, comments, and suggestions for the planned evaluation.

Interested stakeholders and members of the public health community are invited to share any contributions, ideas, or suggestions for the evaluation, by end-September 2023, to:  [email protected].

Contributions and input will help inform the evaluation, and a further opportunity for input and comments on an initial draft will be provided towards the end of 2023 or early 2024.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health says poliomyelitis (polio) is a viral disease that, in its most severe form, may present as acute flaccid paralysis and is defined by the acute onset of weakness or paralysis with reduced muscle tone in children. 

In the U.S., wastewater sampling for poliomyelitis is ongoing.

In May 2023, the World Health Organization confirmed the spread of poliovirus remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. 

As of August 13, 2023, various polio vaccines are in use, attempting to curtail current polio outbreaks.