The Gentle Heroes of the 1954 Polio Vaccine Trials
This powerful quote from Paul A. Offit, MD, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, brings back memories of the fear that came with the poliovirus.
“In 1954, 420,000 first and second graders in the United States were inoculated with Jonas Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine; 200,000 were inoculated with salt water. It was one of the largest placebo-controlled trials of a medical product in history. Jonas Salk didn’t want to do it. He couldn’t conscience giving a saltwater shot to young children when as many as 50,000 were paralyzed by polio and 1,500 died every year.
When the trial was over, the vaccine was declared “safe, effective, and potent.” Church bells rang out; synagogues held special prayer meetings; department store patrons stopped to listen to the results of the trial over loudspeakers.
How did we know that Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was effective? We knew because 16 children died from polio in that study - all in the placebo group. We knew because 34 of the 36 children paralyzed by polio in that study were in the placebo group. These are the gentle heroes we leave behind.” Paul A. Offit, MD July 1, 2023
Are you one of the 420,000 who participated in this historical vaccine trial? We’d love to tell your story.
Contact us: info@polionetwork.org