Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
AP Examines Use Of Oral Polio Vaccine In Nigeria, Risk Of Virus Mutation
The Associated Press examines how the oral polio vaccine, "made from a live polio virus - albeit weakened," is contributing to the spread of the disease in Nigeria. While vaccinated children can pass the virus on to non-immunized children through waste in the water supply, which gives them some protection against polio, "in rare instances, as the virus passes through unimmunized children, it can mutate into a strain dangerous enough to ignite new outbreaks, particularly if immunization rates in the rest of the population are low," according to the news service.
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