Patient Medication Information: uses, side effects, how to take - Imovax Polio
What is IMOVAX® Polio used for?
IMOVAX® Polio is a vaccine used to prevent poliomyelitis (also known as polio). Polio is a disease caused by three types of poliovirus. People can get polio from drinking water or eating food with the polio virus in it. It is also spread from person to person. While most infections do not result in illness, severe infections can kill nerve cells. This leaves muscles permanently weak or damaged. About 1 in every 100 persons infected with the virus becomes paralyzed. Polio can paralyze muscles used for breathing, talking, eating and walking. It can also cause death. This vaccine may be given to adults and children 2 months of age and older.
How does IMOVAX® Polio work?
IMOVAX® Polio causes your body to produce its own natural protection against polio viruses. After you get an IMOVAX® Polio injection, your body begins to make substances called antibodies. Antibodies help your body to fight disease. When you are exposed to polio viruses, the antibodies will help to keep you from getting sick.
What are the ingredients in IMOVAX® Polio?
Medicinal ingredients: Killed purified viruses from three strains of poliomyelitis viruses
Non-medicinal ingredients: 2-phenoxyethanol, calf serum protein, formaldehyde, neomycin, polymyxin B, streptomycin.
IMOVAX® Polio comes in the following dosage forms:
A syringe containing a liquid vaccine dose of 0.5 mL.
Do not use IMOVAX® Polio if:
- You have a known allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine or its container.
- You have a fever or serious illness. Delay the vaccination until you feel better. If you have a mild illness (such as a mild cold) you may have the vaccine. Ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist for advice.
To help avoid side effects and ensure proper use, talk to your healthcare professional before you (or your child) take IMOVAX® Polio. Talk about any health conditions or problems you may have, including if you (or your child):
- Have a disease of the immune system or taking a medical treatment that affects the immune system. The vaccine may provide you with a lower level of protection than it does for people with healthy immune systems.
- Have a bleeding disorder or are on blood-thinning medications. Tell the person giving you the injection about your condition. There is a risk of excessive bleeding where you get the injection if it is not done carefully.
Are pregnant or breast-feeding. It is important that you understand the risks and benefits of vaccination. IMOVAX® Polio should be given to a pregnant or nursing woman only if it is clearly needed. Tell the person giving you the injection if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
- Fainting can occur following, or even before, any needle injection. Therefore, tell your doctor or nurse if your child fainted with a previous injection.
Tell your healthcare professional about all the medicines you (or your child) take, including any drugs, vitamins, minerals, natural supplements or alternative medicines.
- There are no known interactions of IMOVAX® Polio with drugs or food.
IMOVAX® Polio must not be mixed with other vaccines or medicinal products in the same syringe.
How to take IMOVAX® Polio:
IMOVAX® Polio will be given to you by a healthcare professional in a healthcare setting. The vaccine is given under the skin (subcutaneously), preferably in the deltoid (shoulder) region.
- Most people get polio vaccine when they are children. Children usually get 5 doses of IPV: at 2 months of age, a dose 2 months later, at 18 months of age and booster doses at 4 - 6 years and 14 - 16 years.
- Most adults do not need polio vaccine because they were already vaccinated as children. But some adults are at higher risk and should consider polio vaccination: people travelling to areas of the world where polio is common, laboratory workers who might handle polio virus, people who may be in contact with children who received oral polio vaccine, and people in communities or groups with disease caused by the polio virus.
- People who have not received at least 4 doses of any polio vaccines during their lifetime should do so using IMOVAX® Polio. People in any of the higher risk groups may need a polio vaccine booster if more than 10 years have elapsed since the last dose of their complete polio vaccination series.
Usual dose:
For persons 2 months of age and older, the recommended dose is 0.5 mL.
Overdose:
Not applicable to this vaccine.
| If you think you, or a person you are caring for, have taken too much IMOVAX® Polio, contact a healthcare professional, hospital emergency department, or regional poison control centre immediately, even if there are no symptoms. |
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Missed Dose:
If a dose is missed, it can be given at any time.
What are possible side effects from using IMOVAX® Polio?
These are not all the possible side effects you may have when taking IMOVAX® Polio. If you experience any side effects not listed here, tell your healthcare professional.
A vaccine, like any medicine, may cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. The risk of IMOVAX® Polio causing serious harm is extremely small. The small risks associated with IMOVAX® Polio are much less than the risks associated with getting the disease against which it protects.
Tell your doctor, nurse or pharmacist as soon as possible if you do not feel well after receiving IMOVAX® Polio.
Serious side effects are extremely rare. Side effects of this polio vaccine (IPV) are generally mild and last for only a few days after getting the needle. Some people get mild pain, swelling and redness at the spot where the vaccine was given. This is not a complete list of side effects.
If you have a troublesome symptom or side effect that is not listed here or becomes bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, tell your healthcare professional.
Reporting Suspected Side Effects for Vaccines For the general public: Should you experience a side effect following immunization, please report it to your healthcare professional. Should you require information related to the management of the side effect, please contact your healthcare professional. The Public Health Agency of Canada, Health Canada and Sanofi Pasteur Limited cannot provide medical advice. For healthcare professionals: If a patient experiences a side effect following immunization, please complete the Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) Form appropriate for your province/territory (http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/im/aefi-essi-form-eng.php) and send it to your local Health Unit. |
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Storage:
Store in a refrigerator at 2° to 8°C (35° to 46°F). Do not freeze. Discard product if it has been exposed to freezing.
Do not use vaccine after expiration date.
Keep out of reach and sight of children.
If you want more information about IMOVAX® Polio:
- Talk to your healthcare professional
- Find the full product monograph that is prepared for healthcare professionals and includes this Patient Medication Information by visiting the Health Canada website: (https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/drug-products/drug-product-database.html; manufacturer’s website (www.sanofi.ca) or by calling 1-888-621-1146 (no charge).
Last Revised: Oct 30, 2023
Canada