Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine

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Dr. Jonas Salk was an American medical researcher, physician, and virologist who developed the first safe and effective inactivated polio vaccine. Before this vaccine was created, polio vaccines usually contained live, weakened forms of the virus, but Salk developed a vaccine that contained an inactivated, dead form of polio, the first of its kind. Until the Salk vaccine was introduced on April 12, 1955, polio was considered the most frightening health problem in the United Sates. Just 3 years before the vaccine was released, almost 58,000 cases were reported, with 3,145 deaths and 21,269 paralyzed. Most of the victims were children, leaving them scarred for the rest of their lives, which, depending on how bad they were affected, wasn’t long. Because of this, scientist were frantic in finding a way to cure or at least prevent the disease, with massive support from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the world’s most recognized victim. Thanks to Dr. Salk, the people of the U.S., and the world, could stop worrying, at least about something.
Jonas Edward Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City. His parents were from Jewish immigrant families, and they never received a full education, but like most parents, they wanted better for their children, and were determined to see them succeed. When Salk was 13, he attended Townsend Harris High School, a public school for gifted children, where students had to learn a four-year curriculum in three years. As a result, most of the students who graduated, would have the grades to enroll in the City College of New York, known for being a highly competitive college. That is exactly what Salk did, entering CCNY when he was 15 and earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1934. He then entered the Ne...

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... had lived a full life before dying of heart failure on June 23, 1995, at the ripe age of 80. He had developed a vaccine for polio, among other things. He was devoted to his project, especially after his daughter, a mother of five, revealed that she had polio. Even though the vaccine had problems, and a better, oral vaccine was created by Albert Sabin, Salk had earned his place in medical history with his ground-breaking research as the man who stopped polio.

Works Cited

Jonas Salk Biography. [Internet]. 2014. The biography.com website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jonas-salk-9470147. Jonas Salk. [Internet]. 2014. The wikipedia.org website. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_Salk. Jonas Salk Biography. [Internet]. 2014. The notablebiographies.com website. Available from:
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ro-Sc/Salk-Jonas.html.

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