What is the percent risk of my child catching polio versus the percent risk of my child having a bad reaction to the vaccine?

Tiny...however...: My take on this is that the risk of an adverse reaction to being immunized against polio is very tiny; the risk of actually contracting the disease is also ver tiny...But you don't want to go through the latter. My advice is to discuss the matter with your pediatrician; then make your decision.

Wait a Minute: In your comment you refer to the combination vaccine pediarix, but you question only the polio component. If you refer to the 1% statistic and include diptheria, polio, tetanus, pertussis, and hepatitis b diseases in an unimmunized population, your odds are much greater than 1%. So it is safer to immunize.

Both are very low: But your child is not living in a bubble and wildtype polio still exists. The vaccine is quite safe.