What should you know about polio plus rotary?

Rotary is a service organisation that has supported polio eradication activities, including advocacy, fundraising, community mobilisation and immunisation campaigns. It is not a type of polio, a test, or a separate vaccine. Polio is caused by poliovirus; vaccination trains the immune system to recognise the virus and reduces the chance of illness and spread. Public health teams and local healthcare services deliver vaccines according to the schedule used in each setting.

Use your child’s official immunisation record to check whether recommended polio doses have been given. If records are missing, speak with a clinic rather than repeating doses without advice. Families travelling to areas with poliovirus circulation should ask a clinician or travel-health service whether an additional dose or documentation is advised. Support campaign teams by following local instructions and using trusted healthcare services for questions about vaccine timing.

Get urgent help for sudden weakness, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, or a child who becomes unusually floppy or cannot move an arm or leg normally. Contact a healthcare professional after a possible exposure if fever is followed by weakness or movement changes. A vaccination campaign does not replace assessment of a person who is acutely ill.

Ask which doses are documented, whether a catch-up schedule is needed, and whether travel changes the advice. You can also ask how campaign vaccines are coordinated with routine childhood immunisation and what symptoms require urgent review.