The "March of Dimes" began in 1938 as a fund-raising campaign for polio. People were asked to send one dime directly to the White House to help fight the disease. In the first 3 days, the White House received 230,000 dimes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose profile is now on the dime, was himself paralyzed by polio.

The Disease

Polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th Century in the United States. An epidemic in 1916 killed 6,000 people and left 27,000 more paralyzed. In the 1950's, parents refused to let their children go to movies or go swimming for fear of catching the disease.

(more about the symptoms and way its spread)

The Immunization

There are two types of polio vaccine: Inactivated (killed) polio vaccine (IPV), which is a shot; and live oral polio vaccine (OPV), which is a liquid that is swallowed.

(more about the immunization and side effects)

Vaccine Recommendations

• AAP: Prevention of Poliomyelitis: Recommendations for Use of Only Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine for Routine Immunization
• CDC: Poliomyelitis Prevention in the United States (Exit Site)

Quick Facts - What You Need to Know

• What is polio?
• Why get vaccinated?
• Who should get polio vaccine and when?
• Some people should not get polio vaccine or should wait
• What are the risks from polio vaccine?
• What if there is a moderate or severe reaction?

Other Resources

• CDC Polio Page (Exit Site)
• Immunization Action Coalition Polio page (Exit Site)
• National Network for Immunization Information Polio page (Exit Site)