How Vaccine-Derived Polio Gave a Boost to the Anti-Vax Movement

Polio cases that arose as a result of the oral vaccine have given the anti-vaccination movement a huge boost, with high-profile figures using it to push their agenda.

A string of polio cases have emerged in recent months. In particular, cases detected in New York city, Jerusalem, and London have made international headlines.

Analysis of these cases has confirmed that they are caused by a rare, vaccine-derived strain of poliovirus. There were 1,081 cases of vaccine-derived polio recorded worldwide in 2020, triple the number in 2019.

The vaccine-derived strain is linked to the oral polio vaccine. It was introduced to the U.S. by Albert Sabin in the 1960s and was instrumental in eradicating the deadly virus.

Unlike the injected polio vaccination, the oral vaccine—which is administered in drops to the mouth—contains a live virus that can shed for a few days following.

This means if an unvaccinated person comes into close personal contact with somebody who has just had the oral vaccine, it is possible they could become infected. The vaccinated person remains unaffected.

Scientists have known about this strain for decades. Although the oral vaccine carries this one, rare side effect, it has been instrumental in eradicating poliovirus worldwide.

But the anti-vaccination, or "anti-vax," community are saying otherwise.

Where is polio spreading?

Polio is a rare, but extremely contagious virus. Many people may not even realize that the virus is in their system, but in severe cases, it can cause incurable paralysis.

In July, New York recorded its first polio case in a decade in an unvaccinated individual who suffered paralysis as a result. Several wastewater samples then tested positive for the virus. Some experts suspect hundreds of people could be infected as not everyone experiences symptoms.

In June, evidence of poliovirus was detected in London, U.K. The virus was found in sewage samples for the first time since 2003. Cases in Israel also emerged in March. One unvaccinated child has suffered paralysis due to the virus.

Neither the U.S. or the U.K still administer the oral vaccine. The vaccine used more widely today is the injected Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV).

But other countries where the virus is still endemic, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, still utilize the oral vaccine.

With the reopening of the travel industry following COVID-19, it is possible the cases in the U.S. and the U.K. traveled from other countries.

Anti-vax community

Since it came to light that these cases are from a vaccine-derived mutation, influencers in the anti-vax community have taken to social media to share their thoughts.

Some are claiming that wild poliovirus strains do not exist. Others also believe that the vaccine causes Guillain-Barré Syndrome—a rare condition where the immune system attacks the body's nerves.

Children's Health Defense—a website that spreads anti-vaccination sentiment, founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, son of Bobby Kennedy—published an article saying the polio vaccine caused the rise in cases.

"We don't know of any other natural animal reservoirs for the polio virus to hide, outside human hosts. How could we 'eradicate' a certain virus with vaccines when we don't know where the virus comes from?" Children's Health Defense said in a Telegram post on August 16.

Similarly, John Sabal, known as QAnon John—an influencer who often speaks out against vaccines—criticized Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci for encouraging children to get vaccinated against polio.

"To wrap your head around just how evil and sick this man is...Fauci now wants to vaccinate everyone, especially children with the polio vax when it's already been reported on that the polio vax has caused more cases of the disease than the wild virus itself. BTW, since when has polio been an issue in this country? [They] are so desperate to kill you and your children," Sabal said on Telegram.

Others on social media have criticized Fauci for the renewed vaccination calls.

Another anti-vaccination influencer, Chris Saccoccia, also known as Chris Sky, recently claimed that wild polio, a natural strain of the virus which is now largely eradicated, did not exist.

"There is no such thing as 'wild polio.' They will admit all the so-called 'polio' around the world is vaccine-induced from the oral polio vaccine and it also causes acute fast paralysis which is another way of saying Guillain-Barré Syndrome," he said on Telegram.

In the 2020/21 school year, 93 percent of kindergarten students had received all four doses off the polio vaccine, according to CDC data. Rates differ by state. Only 80 percent of children were vaccinated against polio in the District of Columbia, the area with the lowest rate. Idaho was also low, with only 86 percent of children being covered, with Wisconsin recording 87 percent.

The CDC reported in April that vaccination rates among children had dropped by 1 percent (to an overall nationwide rate of 95 percent) in 2020/21 for other routine vaccinations such as measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).

This could be down to the anti-vaccination movement growing in recent years, especially with the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ironically, polio poses a risk only to those who remain unvaccinated.

The current vaccine-derived cases seen in New York, London and Israel are not expected to become a wider risk to the public, as the cities have a high vaccination rate.

The issue is that if the virus is allowed to circulate among unvaccinated individuals for too long, it could begin mutating and increase the risk of paralysis. Which is precisely why scientists work so hard to eradicate it.

"It only risks unvaccinated individuals. But it affects us all as a global community," Professor Eyal Leshem, an infectious disease expert and director at the Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Sheba Medical Center in Israel, told Newsweek.

While anti-vax individuals may refuse to get the polio vaccine due to the vaccine-derived strain, Leshem said that the facts are "completely opposite."

"If you're vaccinated, you really have nothing to worry about. If you are unvaccinated or oppose vaccines, then the result will be that the virus will continue to circulate and endanger people who cannot get vaccines [...] such as countries that have a weaker, public health immunization systems, that are unable to vaccinate the entire populations and mostly children, in countries that are conflict areas where we see out outbreaks of the virus," he said.

What are the facts?

North America has the oral vaccine to thank for its largely polio-free status.

William A. Petri, scientist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and chairman of the WHO Polio Research Committee told Newsweek, that it was "essential for eradication" of polio in the U.S.

He said that in 1955 when the scientist Jonas Salk introduced an injectable polio vaccine it "provided immunity to paralytic polio."

"It, however, did not protect from infection by the poliovirus. This is somewhat similar to the current COVID-19 vaccines that are protecting us from dying but not from being infected with omicron," he said. "In the case of polio, because it was not possible to eradicate infection with the Salk vaccine, cases of paralytic polio were reduced by 90 percent or more, but not eliminated from the U.S. The live attenuated (weakened in laboratory culture so that it no longer caused paralysis, only infection) virus vaccine developed by Albert Sabin, which did protect from infection, was essential for eradication of polio from North America."

Petri said that in 1971, once polio was eradicated in the U.S, Sabin's oral vaccine was no longer used.

"So, what happened in New York City? Not unlike an airplane crashing, it took several things going wrong at the same time for someone to be paralyzed with polio," Petri said. "First an international traveler from a country that still uses the Sabin live virus vaccine introduced the live attenuated virus into NYC; second, the attenuated virus as it spread person to person mutated to be capable of causing paralysis; and finally, an unvaccinated adult was exposed to the mutated virus and developed paralytic polio."

Despite the recent string in cases, Petri is confident that it will be something authorities can get on top of.

"The good news is that the Salk vaccine is universally administered to children at 2, 4 and 6 months of age and again before starting school, preventing paralytic polio. There is a recommendation for adults who are traveling internationally to areas where polio occurs to receive one booster of the Salk vaccine.

"I think what will need to be decided is the extent to which the adult booster will now be used not just for international travel but in the situation we are encountering in NYC. Also good news is that public health authorities are monitoring the spread of the vaccine virus in NYC by testing wastewater for its presence."