Heroes come from all backgrounds & aren"t necessarily war heroes. In 1952 polio was a devastating disease affecting 60K American children, causing more than 21K cases of paralysis and killing more than 3K children. As recently as 1980 there were 400K cases worldwide.
A pioneer in the vaccine for polio was Jonas Salk. Salk became director of the Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh in 1947 receiving funding from the precursor to the March of Dimes to develop a vaccine for polio. Contrary to prevailing scientific opinion at the time Salk believed that using a "killed" polio virus would immunize without the risk of infecting the patient. He administered the vaccine to volunteers including himself, his lab scientists and his wife & children. All developed anti-polio antibodies with no negative reaction. National testing began on 1 million children in 1954 & the vaccine was found to be safe and effective. The vaccine became widely available in 1956 & by 1962 the number of US cases dropped to 910. By 2019 there were only 94 cases worldwide.
Salk spent his last years researching a vaccine for AIDS passing on 6/23/95 at age 80. His contributions have saved the lives & prevented paralysis of millions. Dr. Salk is a true American Hero.
Learn more about Dr. Salk at https://lnkd.in/gkS-bEe
“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality." Jonas Salk
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