What is the routine schedule for giving inactivated polio vaccine (IPV, brand name IPOL, Sanofi) to children?

In the U.S., all infants and children should receive 4 doses of IPV at ages 2, 4, 6–18 months, and 4–6 years. The first dose may be given as early as 6 weeks of age. The final dose should be administered at 4 years of age or older, regardless of the number of previous doses, and should be given 6 months or more after the previous dose. A fourth dose in the routine IPV series is not necessary if the third dose was given at 4 years of age or older and 6 months or more after the previous dose.

Infants and children traveling to areas where there has been wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) circulation in the last 12 months should be vaccinated according to the routine schedule. If the routine series cannot be administered within the recommended intervals before protection is needed, an accelerated schedule can be used: 1) the first dose should be given to infants 6 weeks of age and older, 2) the second and third doses should be administered at 4 weeks or more after the previous doses, and 3) the minimum interval between the third and fourth doses is 6 months. If the age-appropriate series is not completed before departure, the remaining IPV doses to complete a full series should be administered when feasible, at the intervals recommended for the accelerated schedule. If doses are needed while residing in the affected country, the polio vaccine that is available (IPV or oral polio vaccine [OPV]) may be administered.

In addition to single-antigen IPV, five pediatric combination vaccines that contain IPV vaccine are licensed and recommended for use in the United States: DTaP-HepB-IPV (Pediarix, GSK), DTaP-IPV/Hib (Pentacel, Sanofi), DTaP-IPV (Kinrix, GSK), DTaP-IPV (Quadracel, Sanofi), and DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB (Vaxelis, MSP Vaccine Company).