History of the “March of Dimes” and Salk’s first Polio Vaccine - This Day in History – Feb 23rd

Back in 1954, Polio was still affecting children at an alarming rate.  This disease can attack nerve cells and also the central nervous system, which in turn can cause paralysis muscle deterioration and potentially death.  Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine and chose the location of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Arsenal Elementary School to administer the first injections to a group of children at this location. 

The history of trying to find a cure to this debilitating disease dated back around the time of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which himself suffered from Polio as well during an outbreak back in 1921

President Roosevelt founded the, “March of Dimes,” in the late 1940s an organization dedicated to find a cure against Polio.  Dr. Salk was on board at that time as the head of the Virus Research Lab of the University of Pittsburgh. 

Dr. Salk had researched his vaccine using a unique group of volunteers.  According to the Salk Institute website, “the vaccine was given to volunteers who had not had polio, including Salk, his laboratory staff, his wife and their children. The volunteers developed anti-polio antibodies and none had bad reactions to the vaccine. Finally, in 1954, national testing began on one million children, ages six to nine, who became known as the Polio Pioneers: half received the vaccine, and half received a placebo. One-third of the children, who lived in areas where vaccine was not available, were observed to evaluate the background level of polio in this age group.” 

History.com acknowledged that, “Salk found that polio had as many as 125 strains of three basic types, and that an effective vaccine needed to combat all three. By growing samples of the polio virus and then deactivating, or "killing" them by adding a chemical called formalin, Salk developed his vaccine, which was able to immunize without infecting the patient.” 

This virus, which is called, “Poliomyelitis," can still be deadly if a person does not receive their vaccines at the proper times in their lives. 

According to history.com, “A later version of the polio vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, used a weakened form of the live virus and was swallowed instead of injected. It was licensed in 1962 and soon became more popular than Salk's vaccine, as it was cheaper to make and easier for people to take. There is still no cure for polio once it has been contracted, but the use of vaccines has virtually eliminated polio in the United States. Globally, there are now around 250,000 cases each year, mostly in developing countries. The World Health Organization has set a goal of eradicating polio from the entire world by 2010.” 

The March of Dimes continues to exist over the years for the prevention of this disease. Over the years, numerous commercial have been produced to help to raise money for additional research regarding Polio.  Various celebrities collaborated to help raise awareness of this disease.

All History facts provided from the link below:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/it39s-a-tie-for-song-of-the-year-at-the-20th-annual-grammy-awards?catId=13