1. Why has Poliovirus not been eradicated to date?
Several reasons have historically led to that poliovirus not being eradicated. Some of them are listed as follows:
1) People’s misconception about Poliovirus.
2) Insecurity within the country, especially, in the countries in which wild polioviruses have been transmitting endemic.
3) Poor health system. Also, the poliovirus vaccine is more complicated to administer compared to some other vaccines such as the smallpox vaccine. For instance, the oral poliovirus vaccine needs to be kept refrigerated and administrated multiple times.
4) Mistrust of the West and their vaccination programs in afflicted areas. For instance, 8 poliovirus vaccinators were killed in northern Afghanistan in February 2022 which forced the United Nations to stop the vaccination in two provinces. The following month, another vaccination worker was killed in northwestern Pakistan. Since 2012, more than 70 vaccinators have been targeted in Pakistan as well.
5) Underscoring the poliovirus dangers. This resulted in reemerging of the virus in southern Africa in 2021. Also, several vaccine-derived cases appeared in the United States and Israel in 2022. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine disrupted the government’s efforts to prevent the virus outbreak in the west side of the country.
6) Undermining poliovirus vaccination campaigns by misinformation. For instance, a mob in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan burned a healthcare facility in 2019 after a rumor that vaccinated children had fallen ill due to the expiration of their vaccine doses.
