Announcement of polio vaccine success

Lore & Background

In 1954, the year leading up to the announcement, polio was a major killer of American children, though tuberculosis and other infectious diseases actually caused more deaths in that age group at the time. Jonas Salk's vaccine was made ready for its third and final field tests, becoming the most elaborate program of its kind in history, involving 20,000 physicians and public health officers, 64,000 school personnel, and 220,000 volunteers. Millions of people had contributed to the March of Dimes, and seven million people had donated their time and labor.

Within minutes of Francis's declaration, news of the event was carried coast to coast by wire services and radio and television newscasts. Five hundred people, including 150 press, radio, and television reporters, filled the room; 16 television and newsreel cameras stood on a long platform at the back; 54,000 physicians, sitting in movie theaters across the country, watched the broadcast on closed-circuit television. Americans turned on their radios to hear the details, department stores set up loudspeakers, and judges suspended trials so that everyone in the courtroom could hear.

When the vaccine was announced as successful, it led to spontaneous celebrations across the United States. Church bells rang across the country, factories observed moments of silence, synagogues and churches held prayer meetings, and parents and teachers wept. One shopkeeper painted a sign on his window: 'Thank you, Dr. Salk.' 'It was as if a war had ended,' one observer recalled.

Reader's Guide

The announcement of the polio vaccine's success on April 12, 1955, marked a turning point in public health. Polio had been a devastating disease: in 1952, nearly 58,000 cases were reported in the United States, with 3,145 deaths and 21,269 left with mild to disabling paralysis. The vaccine's effectiveness was reported as 80 to 90 percent based on results in eleven states, and it had been administered to over 440,000 children in forty-four states, three Canadian provinces, and Helsinki, Finland. The final report required evaluation of 144,000,000 separate items of information.

Even before the announcement, optimism was so widespread that the Polio Fund in the United States had already contracted to purchase enough vaccine to immunize 9,000,000 children and pregnant women the following year. Around the world, the official news prompted an immediate international rush to vaccinate. By the summer of 1957, over two years later, 100,000,000 doses had been distributed throughout the United States, and reported complications were rare. The vaccine's success led to the Polio Vaccination Assistance Act of 1955, signed by President Eisenhower, ensuring distribution to the public, with 30 million inoculations given to children in the United States within that period.

Did You Know?

• The announcement was made exactly ten years to the day after the death of President Roosevelt, who was crippled by polio.
• 54,000 physicians watched the broadcast on closed-circuit television in movie theaters across the country.
• The vaccine was administered to over 440,000 children in forty-four states, the District of Columbia, and three Canadian provinces during the main U.S. field trial.
• By the summer of 1957, 100,000,000 doses had been distributed throughout the United States.