to contract polio in the United States in nearly a decade, experts such as Dr. Peter Salk — whose late father, Jonas, developed a vaccine for the disease — said the public shouldn’t be alarmed but warned that children unvaccinated for polio could be at risk.
But Peter Salk, who serves as president of the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation in La Jolla, California, and is a visiting professor at Pitt, said that the virus is still a threat to populations in other countries. When U.S. citizens unvaccinated against polio travel abroad, there’s always the threat that they could bring the virus home.
According to Peter Salk, the Rockland County man was most likely exposed to someone who received the oral vaccine in another country. Recipients of the oral polio vaccine, which administers a live but weakened version of the polio virus, can more easily spread the virus to those who are unvaccinated.
He warned that populations across the world were increasingly at risk. However, vaccine disinformation rose during the COVID-19 pandemic and the chaotic nature of remote learning led some parents to forgo vaccinating their children — children who weren’t going into the classroom and therefore not required to be vaccinated by some kindergarten programs.
Paging DavidRWenner, we need your fear mongering on pennlive stat. Psst. Billions worldwide are vaccinared against the virus. Mine on a sugar cube.