A new polio vaccine joins the fight to vanquish the paralyzing disease

The modified vaccine seeks to end outbreaks in the Middle East and Africa

baby getting polio vaccine in Mauritania

A baby is vaccinated against polio in Mauritania in 2020. Vaccination campaigns have provided more than 10 billion doses of oral polio vaccine to nearly 3 billion children since 2000, preventing more than 13 million cases of polio, according to the World Health Organization.

Raphael Pouget/UNICEF

After decades of work and mass vaccination campaigns that have spared millions of children from paralysis, the world is close to wiping out polio.