Polio vaccine: A look back
In 1955, researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announced to the world the polio vaccine was safe and effective.
The milestone took place April 12, 1955. Two years earlier, Salk had announced on a CBS radio broadcast the first successful test of the vaccine.
Polio was a major problem in the United States mere decades ago. In the late 1940s through early 1950s, polio crippled about 35,000 Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States was polio-free by 1979 thanks to vaccine efforts.
Pictured here is Dr. Salk giving a vaccine to a small child. Keep clicking for a look back at the effort to eradicate polio.
Polio vaccine
A polio sufferer himself, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes in 1938. The organization is commemorating its 75th anniversary this year, highlighting numerous health milestones including the vaccine Salk was able to develop with the help of March of Dimes donations from millions of Americans.
"I'm pleased that the March of Dimes continues to honor this day, which reminds us of the important contributions that can result from collaborative efforts for the benefit of human health on a global scale." Dr. Peter Salk, Jonas' son, said in a statement.
In this picture, Dr. Jonas Salk is seen on television, inoculating a child with the polio vaccine, 1955.
Polio vaccine
Polio is an incurable infectious disease that can spread person to person, caused by a virus that invades the brain and spinal cord.
In this image from the CDC, an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer uses a muscle evaluation test for polio on this young patient.
Polio vaccine
Polio was a highly contagious disease spread through contact with an infected person or droplets from a sneeze or cough. That's because poliovirus lives in an infected person's throat and intestines. A virus may also live in a person's infected feces for weeks, and contaminate food and water if people did not wash their hands properly.
March of Dimes Polio Precautions cartoons, like this one from 1953, helped spread the word about disease prevention.
Polio vaccine
This historic photograph shows a technician calibrating an iron lung machine.
These machines, also called tank respirators, were used to keep polio patients alive, enabling them to breathe by creating a negatively-pressurized environment around their bodies after having been sealed inside the machine, with only their head outside the apparatus. No device is more associated with polio than the iron lung, according to the Smithsonian Institute. In 1959, there were 1,200 people using tank respirators in the United States -- by 2004, there were only 39.
Polio vaccine
The risk of lifelong paralysis was very serious for polio. Even children who appeared to recover could develop new muscle pain or paralysis decades later.
This image from the March of Dimes shows a father and son in recovery from polio, 1948.
Polio vaccine
The vaccine was tested in massive field trials, beginning in 1954, that involved 1.8 million schoolchildren known as "polio pioneers," (seen here) according to the March of Dimes.
The Salk vaccine was licensed for use on April 12, 1955, the very day it was announced to the news media as "safe, effective, and potent."
Polio vaccine
Dr. Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine, is seen in the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh, 1954.
Polio vaccine
A Salk polio vaccine field trial takes place in New York City, 1954.
Standing at right are NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Leona Baumgartner, March of Dimes medical director Dr. Hart van Riper, and Basil O'Connor, President, March of Dimes.
Polio vaccine
Workers create a billboard in Columbus, Georgia, used to promote public health awareness of polio vaccinations within a community.
After polio vaccination began in 1955, case counts dropped significantly. Public health officials used every communications media available to promote the vaccination.
Polio vaccine
This image shows a polio vaccination in Kansas, 1957.
Polio vaccine
Polio was also problematic outside the United States. In this image from the World Health Organization, a nurse in Tokyo stands by to offer assistance to a young boy struggling to walk with the aid of crutches and leg braces.
Polio vaccine
An Australian school girl receives the Salk polio vaccine in the 1950s.
Polio vaccine
This image from 1977 depicts a young African-American girl seated on her mother
Polio vaccine
The March of Dimes has more information on the history of the polio vaccine.
Watch more: All That Mattered: Polio vaccine turns 58