A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On April 12, 1955, the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk was declared safe and effective following nearly a year of field trials undertaken by about 1.8 million American child volunteers dubbed “polio pioneers.”
The front page of the Deseret News heralded the triumph, and noted Utah’s participation in the pioneering effort.
The backstory
Knocking down polio was the biggest medical experiment ever, the national field test of the vaccine that defeated polio.
In the early 1950s, polio would strike more than 50,000 people during a single peak epidemic year. Thousands of children were paralyzed. Many died. Many more were unable to breathe without an iron lung.
In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, himself a polio victim, established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, with a goal to care for polio victims and help overcome the disease. Children participated in the annual March of Dimes to collect money for polio research.
In April 1954, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis began vaccinating the 1.8 million schoolchildren with a polio vaccine developed by Dr. Salk. Delivered by syringe, the Salk vaccine — plus an oral compound later concocted by Dr. Albert B. Sabin — eventually all but eliminated polio.
Field trials were carried out early in 1954. Altogether, 1.8 million children in first, second and third grade were given a series of three shots. Typically, the vaccinations were spaced a month apart.
About Jonas Salk
In 1960, Salk established the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, a San Diego suburb. The institute became a leading biomedical research center.
Salk conducted research on multiple sclerosis and cancer before retiring from his own laboratory in 1984. He continued to maintain offices at the institute and, in 1987, co-founded Immune Response Corp. in Carlsbad to search for an AIDS vaccine. He died in 1995.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about eradicating polio, what it took from the American public and how we have dealt with disease and vaccinations since:
“Utahns recall polio’s impact”
“`Polio pioneers’ began quest to conquer illness 40 years ago”
“Vaccine years away for AIDS, but efforts are showing promise”
“A miracle, or a scientific feat? Vaccines can be both”
“One step at a time: Salt Lake City researcher records post-polio syndrome”
“Support group validates polio survivors”
“Salk honored 40 years after banishing fear”
“Jonas Salk, eradicator of polio, dies”
“Here’s why Utah is looking at monitoring wastewater for polio”
“‘Polio’ is important history of disease”
