Most people are fully protected against Polio, however, some people still aren’t.
You may be contacted to confirm your vaccination status and that of your children aged under 5 who may not be up to date with their Polio vaccinations.
If you need to check your child’s immunisation status, please check their red book or their vaccination record through online access, before calling the surgery.
If you believe your child has not been vaccinated, please book an appointment with a nurse.
Check if you’re at risk of polio
Your chance of getting polio in the UK is extremely low. This is because most people are fully vaccinated. Polio was eradicated in Europe in 2003.
There’s still an extremely small risk of catching it when travelling in a country where polio is still found, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
If you’re not vaccinated, there is also a very small risk of getting it through contact with a person bringing the polio virus from these countries when they return to the UK.
Polio is caused by a virus that spreads easily from person to person. It usually spreads through contact with the poo of an infected person. For example, from not washing your hands properly and putting them in your mouth, or from contaminated food or water.
It can also spread through coughs or sneezes, but this is less common.
