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In reply to the discussion: New York polio case is the 'tip of the iceberg,' hundreds of others could be infected [View all]BumRushDaShow
(128,979 posts)Because right now, IIRC, it's only available through an injection and that right there can slow the process, not just from refusal by the needle-phobic, but due to the prep, handling, and disposal of those needles (usually considered a "bio-hazard" and marked as that in special disposal containers).
Thus squirting vaccine into mouths down a line of folks would get it distributed much quicker and without the screams of needles.
And apparently it may be that the old Eastern Bloc countries are still using the oral AV.
For example per this article regarding Ukraine's reporting of a Polio case last year (and includes an image of a Ukrainian child receiving the oral vaccine back in 2015)- https://www.euronews.com/2021/10/07/ukraine-confirms-case-of-polio-in-18-month-old-toddler
By Emil Filtenborg Updated: 07/10/2021
Stock picture: A boy receives polio vaccine drops at a clinic in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 21, 2015 - Copyright Credit: Gleb Garanich/REUTERS
Ukraine has confirmed a case of polio. The country's health ministry said it had been found in an 18-month-old toddler in Rivne Oblast, near the border with Belarus.
It said the youngster had been hospitalised with "symptoms of being paralysed".
"The disease is caused by a derivative of the vaccine strain of polioviruses type 2 (Sabin 2)," the health ministry statement read.
"The parents deliberately refused medical vaccinations because of their religious beliefs."
(snip)
Of course as noted, using live (attenuated) virus vaccine is an issue, but it's not just one in Asia or Africa.