Safety and Immunogenicity of Trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine in Vaccinated Children and Vaccine-Naïve Infants: A Phase 4 Study.

In the context of polio eradication, novel oral polio vaccines for type 2 (nOPV2) were developed, and types 1 and 3 polioviruses are being developed. We aimed to generate trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV) safety and immunogenicity data as a reference for comparing with novel OPV formulations. This was a single-center, open-label, phase 4 study in March 2016 in the Dominican Republic with healthy children previously vaccinated with ≥3 doses of tOPV receiving one dose of tOPV and vaccine-naïve infants receiving 3 doses of tOPV. Safety and immunogenicity were assessed. No serious adverse reactions or important medical reactions were reported. Seroconversion (SC) rates at Day 28 in children were 32.7%, 36.7%, and 46.9% for types 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and seroprotection (SP) rates 28 days after one dose increased from 89.8% at baseline to 93.9%, 98.0% to 100%, and 83.7% to 98.0% for types 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In infants, SC rates were 88.5%, 98.1%, and 96.2% for types 1, 2, and 3, respectively. SP rates at Day 84 were 93.3%, 100%, and 96.2% for types 1, 2, and 3, respectively. This information can be used as a reference to compare with novel monovalent or trivalent OPVs under development.

Nasal and pharyngeal mucosal immunity to poliovirus in children following routine immunization with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in the United States of America.

BACKGROUND: Although polioviruses (PVs) replicate in lymphoid tissue of both the pharynx and ileum, research on polio vaccine-induced mucosal immunity has predominantly focused on intestinal neutralizing and binding antibody levels measured in stool. METHODS: To investigate the extent to which routine immunization with intramuscularly injected inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) may induce nasal and pharyngeal mucosal immunity, we measured PV type-specific neutralization and immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA, and IgM levels in nasal secretions, adenoid cell supernatants, and sera collected from 12 children, aged 2 to 5 years, undergoing planned adenoidectomies. All participants were routinely immunized with IPV and had no known contact with live PVs. RESULTS: PV-specific mucosal neutralization was detected in nasal and adenoid samples, mostly from children who had previously received four IPV doses. Across the three PV serotypes, both nasal (Spearman's rho ≥ 0.87, p≤0.0003 for all) and adenoid (Spearman's rho ≥0.57, p≤0.05 for all) neutralization titers correlated with serum neutralization titers. In this small study sample, there was insufficient evidence to determine which Ig isotype(s) was correlated with neutralization. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide policy-relevant evidence that routine immunization with IPV may induce nasal and pharyngeal mucosal immunity. The observed correlations of nasal and pharyngeal mucosal neutralization with serum neutralization contrast with previous observations of distinct intestinal and serum responses to PV vaccines. Further research is warranted to determine which antibody isotype(s) correlate with polio vaccine-induced nasal and pharyngeal mucosal neutralizing activity and to understand the differences from intestinal mucosal immunity.

Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 Use for Polio Outbreak Response: A Global Effort for a Global Health Emergency.

A sharp rise in circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreaks in the years following the cessation of routine use of poliovirus type 2-containing oral polio vaccine and the trend of seeding new emergences with suboptimal vaccination response during the same time-period led to the accelerated development of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), a vaccine with enhanced genetic stability and lower likelihood of reversion to neuroparalytic variants compared to its Sabin counterpart. In November 2020, nOPV2 became the first vaccine to be granted an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) by the World Health Organization (WHO) Prequalification Team (PQT), allowing close to a billion doses to be used by countries within three years after its first rollout and leading to full licensure and WHO prequalification (PQ) in December 2023. The nOPV2 development process exemplifies how scientific advances and innovative tools can be applied to combat global health emergencies in an urgent and adaptive way, building on a collaborative effort among scientific, regulatory and implementation partners and policymakers across the globe.

Effectiveness of poliovirus vaccines against circulating vaccine-derived type 2 poliomyelitis in Nigeria between 2017 and 2022: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Between 2018 and 2022, Nigeria experienced continuous transmission of circulating vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2), with 526 cases of cVDPV2 poliomyelitis detected in total and approximately 180 million doses of monovalent type 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (mOPV2) and 450 million doses of novel type 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (nOPV2) delivered in outbreak response campaigns. Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) was introduced into routine immunisation in 2015, with a second dose added in 2021. We aimed to estimate the effectiveness of nOPV2 against cVDPV2 paralysis and compare nOPV2 effectiveness with that of mOPV2 and IPV. METHODS: In this retrospective case-control study, we used acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance data in Nigeria from Jan 1, 2017, to Dec 31, 2022, using age-matched, onset-matched, and location-matched cVDPV2-negative AFP cases as test-negative controls. We also did a parallel prospective study from March, 2021, using age-matched community controls from the same settlement as the cases. We included children born after May, 2016, younger than 60 months, for whom polio immunisation history (doses of OPV from campaigns and IPV) was reported. We estimated the per-dose effectiveness of nOPV2 against cVDPV2 paralysis using conditional logistic regression and compared nOPV2 effectiveness with that of mOPV2 and IPV. FINDINGS: In the retrospective case-control study, we identified 509 cVDPV2 poliomyelitis cases in Nigeria with case verification and paralysis onset between Jan 1, 2017, and Dec 31, 2022. Of these, 82 children were excluded for not meeting inclusion criteria, and 363 (85%) of 427 eligible cases were matched to 1303 test-negative controls. Cases reported fewer OPV and IPV doses than test-negative controls (mean number of OPV doses 5·9 [SD 4·2] in cases vs 6·7 [4·3] in controls; one or more IPV doses reported in 95 [26%] of 363 cases vs 513 [39%] of 1303 controls). We found low per-dose effectiveness of nOPV2 (12%, 95% CI -2 to 25) and mOPV2 (17%, 3 to 29), but no significant difference between the two vaccines (p=0·67). The estimated effectiveness of one IPV dose was 43% (23 to 58). In the prospective study, 181 (46%) of 392 eligible cases were matched to 1557 community controls. Using community controls, we found a high effectiveness of IPV (89%, 95% CI 83 to 93, for one dose), a low per-dose effectiveness of nOPV2 (-23%, -45 to -5) and mOPV2 (1%, -23 to 20), and no significant difference between the per-dose effectiveness of nOPV2 and mOPV2 (p=0·12). INTERPRETATION: We found no significant difference in estimated effectiveness of the two oral vaccines, supporting the recommendation that the more genetically stable nOPV2 should be preferred in cVDPV2 outbreak response. Our findings highlight the role of IPV and the necessity of strengthening routine immunisation, the primary route through which IPV is delivered. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UK Medical Research Council.

Impact of Supplementary Immunization Activities using Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 during a Large outbreak of Circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Novel oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) type 2 (nOPV2) has been made available for outbreak response under an emergency use listing authorization based on supportive clinical trial data. Since 2021 more than 350 million doses of nOPV2 were used for control of a large outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Nigeria. METHODS: Using a bayesian time-series susceptible-infectious-recovered model, we evaluate the field effectiveness of nOPV2 immunization campaigns in Nigeria compared with campaigns using monovalent OPV type 2 (mOPV2). RESULTS: We found that both nOPV2 and mOPV2 campaigns were highly effective in reducing transmission of cVDPV2, on average reducing the susceptible population by 42% (95% confidence interval, 28-54%) and 38% (20-51%) per campaign, respectively, which were indistinguishable from each other in this analysis (relative effect, 1.1 [.7-1.9]). Impact was found to vary across areas and between immunization campaigns. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with the comparable individual immunogenicity of nOPV2 and mOPV2 found in clinical trials but also suggest that outbreak response campaigns may have small impacts in some areas requiring more campaigns than are suggested in current outbreak response procedures.

Safety and immunogenicity of shorter interval schedules of the novel oral poliovirus vaccine type 2 in infants: a phase 3, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority study in the Dominican Republic.

BACKGROUND: The novel oral poliovirus vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) is now authorised by a WHO emergency use listing and widely distributed to interrupt outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2. As protection of vulnerable populations, particularly young infants, could be facilitated by shorter intervals between the two recommended doses, we aimed to assess safety and non-inferiority of immunogenicity of nOPV2 in 1-week, 2-week, and 4-week schedules. METHODS: In this phase 3, open-label, randomised trial, healthy, full-term, infants aged 6-8 weeks from a hospital or a clinic in the Dominican Republic were randomly allocated (1:1:1 ratio) using a pre-prepared, computer-generated randomisation schedule to three groups to receive two doses of nOPV2 immunisations with a 1-week interval (group A), 2-week interval (group B), or 4-week interval (group C). The nOPV2 vaccine was given at a 0·1 mL dose and contained at least 105 50% cell culture infective dose. Neutralising antibodies against poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3 were measured before each immunisation and 4 weeks after the second dose. The primary outcome was the type 2 seroconversion rate 28 days after the second dose, and the non-inferiority margin was defined as a lower bound 95% CI of greater than -10%. Safety and reactogenicity were assessed through diary cards completed by the parent or guardian. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05033561. FINDINGS: We enrolled 905 infants between Dec 16, 2021, and March 28, 2022. 872 infants were included in the per-protocol analyses: 289 in group A, 293 in group B, and 290 in group C. Type 2 seroconversion rates were 87·5% (95% CI 83·2 to 91·1) in group A (253 of 289 participants), 91·8% (88·1 to 94·7) in group B (269 of 293 participants), and 95·5% (92·5 to 97·6) in group C (277 of 290 participants). Non-inferiority was shown for group B compared with group C (difference in rates -3·7; 95% CI -7·9 to 0·3), but not for group A compared with group C (-8·0; -12·7 to -3·6). 4 weeks after the second nOPV2 dose, type 2 neutralising antibodies increased in all three groups such that over 95% of each group was seroprotected against polio type 2, although final geometric mean titres tended to be highest with longer intervals between doses. Immunisation with nOPV2 was well tolerated with no causal association to vaccination of any severe or serious adverse event; one death from septic shock during the study was unrelated to the vaccine. INTERPRETATION: Two nOPV2 doses administered 1 week or 2 weeks apart from age 6 weeks to 8 weeks were safe and immunogenic. Immune responses after a 2-week interval were non-inferior to those after the standard 4-week interval, but marked responses after a 1-week interval suggest that schedules with an over 1-week interval can be used to provide flexibility to campaigns to improve coverage and hasten protection during circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 outbreaks. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Use of inactivated poliovirus vaccine for poliovirus outbreak response.

With continued wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in certain countries, there exists an ongoing risk of importation of polioviruses into other countries, including those that have been polio-free for decades. Diversifying the poliovirus outbreak response toolkit is essential to account for different public health and epidemiological contexts. In this Personal View, we discuss data on intestinal and pharyngeal mucosal immunity induced by inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), previous programmatic experience of poliovirus outbreak response with IPV, and outbreak response guidelines in countries that exclusively use IPV. With recent reports of poliovirus detection in polio-free countries such as the USA and the UK, it is important to assess the interplay of virus transmission dynamics, vaccine impact on preventing paralysis and virus spread, and regulatory complexities of using oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) and IPV options for outbreak response. As the global eradication programme navigates through cessation of routine OPV use with replacement by IPV and stockpiling of novel OPVs, clarity on the impact of IPV use will be important for informed decision making by global, regional, and national policy makers.

The Origins and Risk Factors for Serotype-2 Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Emergences in Africa During 2016-2019.

Serotype 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV2) can revert to regain wild-type neurovirulence and spread to cause emergences of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV2). After its global withdrawal from routine immunization in 2016, outbreak response use has created a cycle of VDPV2 emergences that threaten eradication. We implemented a hierarchical model based on VP1 region genetic divergence, time, and location to attribute emergences to campaigns and identify risk factors. We found that a 10 percentage point increase in population immunity in children younger than 5 years at the campaign time and location corresponds to a 18.0% decrease (95% credible interval [CrI], 6.3%-28%) in per-campaign relative risk, and that campaign size is associated with emergence risk (relative risk scaling with population size to a power of 0.80; 95% CrI, .50-1.10). Our results imply how Sabin OPV2 can be used alongside the genetically stable but supply-limited novel OPV2 (listed for emergency use in November 2020) to minimize emergence risk.

Polio eradication: Addressing the hurdles on the last mile.

1988, the World Health Assembly committed to eradicate poliomyelitis, a viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis. Today, only type 1 of the three wild poliovirus types remains circulating in limited geographic areas following widespread use of different poliovirus vaccines. While we are close to zero new cases of wild polio, it is a fragile situation, and there are many remaining and new hurdles to overcome. Here, experts discuss how to address them.

Evaluation of the safety, immunogenicity, and faecal shedding of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 in healthy newborn infants in Bangladesh: a randomised, controlled, phase 2 clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV2) from Sabin oral poliovirus vaccines (OPVs) are the leading cause of poliomyelitis. A novel type 2 OPV (nOPV2) has been developed to be more genetically stable with similar tolerability and immunogenicity to that of Sabin type 2 vaccines to mitigate the risk of cVDPV2. We aimed to assess these aspects of nOPV2 in poliovirus vaccine-naive newborn infants. METHODS: In this randomised, double-blind, controlled, phase 2 trial we enrolled newborn infants at the Matlab Health Research Centre, Chandpur, Bangladesh. We included infants who were healthy and were a single birth after at least 37 weeks' gestation. Infants were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive either two doses of nOPV2 or placebo, administered at age 0-3 days and at 4 weeks. Exclusion criteria included receipt of rotavirus or any other poliovirus vaccine, any infection or illness at the time of enrolment (vomiting, diarrhoea, or intolerance to liquids), diagnosis or suspicion of any immunodeficiency disorder in the infant or a close family member, or any contraindication for venipuncture. The primary safety outcome was safety and tolerability after one and two doses of nOPV2, given 4 weeks apart in poliovirus vaccine-naive newborn infants and the primary immunogenicity outcome was the seroconversion rate for neutralising antibodies against type 2 poliovirus, measured 28 days after the first and second vaccinations with nOPV2. Study staff recorded solicited and unsolicited adverse events after each dose during daily home visits for 7 days. Poliovirus neutralising antibody responses were measured in sera drawn at birth and at age 4 weeks and 8 weeks. This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04693286. FINDINGS: Between Sept 21, 2020, and Aug 16, 2021, we screened 334 newborn infants, of whom three (<1%) were found to be ineligible and one (<1%) was withdrawn by the parents; the remaining 330 (99%) infants were assigned to receive nOPV2 (n=220 [67%]) or placebo (n=110 [33%]). nOPV2 was well tolerated; 154 (70%) of 220 newborn infants in the nOPV2 group and 78 (71%) of 110 in the placebo group had solicited adverse events, which were all mild or moderate in severity. Severe unsolicited adverse events in 11 (5%) vaccine recipients and five (5%) placebo recipients were considered unrelated to vaccination. 306 (93%) of 330 infants had seroprotective maternal antibodies against type 2 poliovirus at birth, decreasing to 58 (56%) of 104 in the placebo group at 8 weeks. In the nOPV2 group 196 (90%) of 217 infants seroconverted by week 8 after two doses, when 214 (99%) had seroprotective antibodies. INTERPRETATION: nOPV2 was well tolerated and immunogenic in newborn infants, with two doses, at birth and 4 weeks, resulting in almost 99% of infants having protective neutralising antibodies. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Modelling the spread of serotype-2 vaccine derived-poliovirus outbreak in Pakistan and Afghanistan to inform outbreak control strategies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Since July 2019, Pakistan and Afghanistan have been facing an outbreak of serotype-2 circulating vaccine derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) in addition to continued transmission of serotype-1 wild poliovirus (WPV1) and SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. Understanding the risks of cVDPV2 transmission due to pause of global vaccination efforts and the impact of potential vaccination response strategies in the current context of COVID-19 mitigation measures is critical. METHODS: We developed a stochastic, geographically structured mathematical model of cVDPV2 transmission which captures both mucosal and humoral immunity separately and allows for reversion of serotype-2 oral polio vaccine (OPV2) virus to cVDPV2 following vaccine administration. The model includes geographic heterogeneities in vaccination coverage, population immunity and population movement. The model was fitted to historic cVDPV2 cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan between January 2010-April 2016 and July 2019-March 2020 using iterated particle filtering. The model was used to simulate spread of cVDPV2 infection from July 2019 to explore impact of various proposed vaccination responses on stopping transmission and risk of spread of reverted Sabin-2 under varying assumptions of impacts from COVID-19 lockdown measures on movement patterns as well as declines in vaccination coverage. RESULTS: Simulated monthly incidence of cVDPV2 from the best-fit model demonstrated general spatio-temporal alignment with observed cVDPV2 cases. The model predicted substantial spread of cVDPV2 infection, with widespread transmission through 2020 in the absence of any vaccination activities. Vaccination responses were predicted to substantially reduce transmission and case burden, with a greater impact from earlier responses and those with larger geographic scope. While the greatest risk of seeding reverted Sabin-2 was predicted in areas targeted with OPV2, subsequent spread was greatest in areas with no or delayed response. The proposed vaccination strategy demonstrated ability to stop the cVDPV2 outbreak (with low risk of reverted Sabin-2 spread) by February 2021. CONCLUSION: Outbreak response vaccination campaigns against cVDPV2 will be challenging throughout the COVID-19 pandemic but must be implemented urgently when feasible to stop transmission of cVDPV2.

Enabling accelerated vaccine roll-out for Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEICs): Novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) experience.

To address the evolving risk of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners are working closely with countries to deploy an additional innovative tool for outbreak response - novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). The World Health Organization's (WHO) Prequalification program issued an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) recommendation for nOPV2 on 13 November 2020. The WHO's EUL procedure was created to assess and list unlicensed vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to enable their use in response to a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). nOPV2 was the first vaccine to receive an EUL, paving the way for other emergency vaccines. In this report, we summarise the pathway for nOPV2 roll-out under EUL.

A novel tool to eradicate an ancient scourge: the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 story.

The recent detection of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) in London (UK) and a case of paralytic polio in New York (USA) have highlighted how the scourge of poliomyelitis has not been totally overcome and remains an international problem, not confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan (where wild-type 1 poliovirus remains endemic) or as outbreaks of circulating VDPV in countries in Africa. To address the risk of circulating VDPVs, a global collaborative effort over the past decade has enabled the development of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) that is as immunogenic as the current Sabin strain and so equally effective, while being less likely to revert to neurovirulence than Sabin oral polio vaccines. The successful development of nOPV2-the first such vaccine against type 2 poliovirus and the first vaccine ever authorised by the WHO Prequalification team through its Emergency Use Listing procedure-has led to the deployment of approximately 450 million doses of nOPV2 for outbreak control in 21 countries. It also paved the way for the subsequent Emergency Use Listing approval of COVID-19 vaccines in the global pandemic. Monitoring the use of nOPV2 has confirmed it is more genetically stable and less likely to result in VDPV than the Sabin strain, suggesting that the target of the global eradication of poliomyelitis might be a little more attainable than previously believed.

Genetic and phenotypic stability of poliovirus shed from infants who received novel type 2 or Sabin type 2 oral poliovirus vaccines in Panama: an analysis of two clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Sabin strains used in oral poliovirus vaccines (OPV) can revert to virulence and, in rare instances, cause disease or generate vaccine-derived strains leading to outbreaks in areas of low immunisation coverage. A novel OPV2 (nOPV2) was designed to stabilise the viral genome against reversion and reduce recombination events that might lead to virulent strains. In this study, we evaluated the genetic and phenotypic stability of shed poliovirus following administration of one dose of monovalent OPV2 (mOPV2) or nOPV2 to infants aged 18-22 weeks. METHODS: In two similarly designed clinical trials (NCT02521974 and NCT03554798) conducted in Panama, infants aged 18-22-weeks, after immunisation with three doses of bivalent OPV (types 1 and 3) and one dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine, were administered one or two doses of mOPV2 or nOPV2. In this analysis of two clinical trials, faecally shed polioviruses following one dose of mOPV2 or nOPV2 were isolated from stools meeting predetermined criteria related to sample timing and viral presence and quantity and assessed for nucleotide polymorphisms using next-generation sequencing. A transgenic mouse neurovirulence test was adapted to assess the effect of the possible phenotypic reversion of shed mOPV2 and nOPV2 with a logistic regression model. FINDINGS: Of the 91 eligible samples, 86 were able to be sequenced, with 72 evaluated in the transgenic mouse assay. Sabin-2 poliovirus reverts rapidly at nucleotide 481, the primary attenuation site in domain V of the 5' untranslated region of the genome. There was no evidence of neurovirulence-increasing polymorphisms in domain V of shed nOPV2. Reversion of shed Sabin-2 virus corresponded with unadjusted paralysis rates of 47·6% at the 4 log10 50% cell culture infectious dose (CCID50) and 76·7% at the 5 log10 CCID50 inoculum levels, with rates of 2·8% for 4 log10 CCID50 and 11·8% for 5 log10 CCID50 observed for shed nOPV2 samples. The estimated adjusted odds ratio at 4·5 log10 of 0·007 (95% CI 0·002-0·023; p<0·0001) indicates significantly reduced odds of mouse paralysis from virus obtained from nOPV2 recipients compared with mOPV2 recipients. INTERPRETATION: The data indicate increased genetic stability of domain V of nOPV2 relative to mOPV2, with significantly lower neurovirulence of shed nOPV2 virus compared with shed mOPV2. While this vaccine is currently being deployed under an emergency use listing, the data on the genetic stability of nOPV2 will support further regulatory and policy decision-making regarding use of nOPV2 in outbreak responses. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Genetic Characterization of Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 Viruses During Initial Use Phase Under Emergency Use Listing - Worldwide, March-October 2021.

The emergence and international spread of neurovirulent circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) across multiple countries in Africa and Asia in recent years pose a major challenge to the goal of eradicating all forms of polioviruses. Approximately 90% of all cVDPV outbreaks are caused by the type 2 strain of the Sabin vaccine, an oral live, attenuated vaccine; cVDPV outbreaks typically occur in areas of persistently low immunization coverage (1). A novel type 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (nOPV2), produced by genetic modification of the type 2 Sabin vaccine virus genome (2), was developed and evaluated through phase I and phase II clinical trials during 2017-2019. nOPV2 was demonstrated to be safe and well-tolerated, have noninferior immunogenicity, and have superior genetic stability compared with Sabin monovalent type 2 (as measured by preservation of the primary attenuation site [domain V in the 5' noncoding region] and significantly lower neurovirulence of fecally shed vaccine virus in transgenic mice) (3-5). These findings indicate that nOPV2 could be an important tool in reducing the risk for generating vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) and the risk for vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis cases. Based on the favorable preclinical and clinical data, and the public health emergency of international concern generated by ongoing endemic wild poliovirus transmission and cVDPV type 2 outbreaks, the World Health Organization authorized nOPV2 for use under the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) pathway in November 2020, allowing for its first use for outbreak response in March 2021 (6). As required by the EUL process, among other EUL obligations, an extensive plan was developed and deployed for obtaining and monitoring nOPV2 isolates detected during acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, environmental surveillance, adverse events after immunization surveillance, and targeted surveillance for adverse events of special interest (i.e., prespecified events that have the potential to be causally associated with the vaccine product), during outbreak response, as well as through planned field studies. Under this monitoring framework, data generated from whole-genome sequencing of nOPV2 isolates, alongside other virologic data for isolates from AFP and environmental surveillance systems, are reviewed by the genetic characterization subgroup of an nOPV working group of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Global nOPV2 genomic surveillance during March-October 2021 confirmed genetic stability of the primary attenuating site. Sequence data generated through this unprecedented global effort confirm the genetic stability of nOPV2 relative to Sabin 2 and suggest that nOPV2 will be an important tool in the eradication of poliomyelitis. nOPV2 surveillance should continue for the duration of the EUL.