Polio and the Race for a Vaccine

In the first half of the twentieth century, polio epidemics terrified parents in wealthy countries, paralysing thousands of children each summer; the US epidemic of 1952 caused around 57,000 reported cases. A national charity, the March of Dimes, raised money from ordinary donors to fund research. Jonas Salk developed an injected vaccine using inactivated virus, tested in 1954 in one of the largest medical trials in history, involving more than a million children. On 12 April 1955 it was declared safe and effective.

Soon after, a manufacturing error at Cutter Laboratories caused some vaccinated children to contract polio, leading to stronger government oversight. Albert Sabin's oral vaccine, cheaper and easier to give, followed in the early 1960s. In 1988 a global eradication initiative began, and cases have since fallen dramatically. The story shows public participation, rigorous testing and regulation working together.