Who Here Remembers Polio?

[Hobbes]

Here's a little more detail about the vaccine from another source:

Sabin and the Cold War
Because Salk vaccine was used so extensively in the United States, Sabin had to go overseas in the late 1950s to find people for his clinical trials, in the Belgian Congo and, on a massive scale, in the Soviet Union. An American was able to conduct an extensive polio vaccine trial in the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war because the fear of polio was stronger than political differences.

“After getting satisfactory results of tests of your vaccine in 20,000 children we are going to prepare from your strains (1956) material for vaccination of 2ñ3 million people more, and after thorough laboratory tests of this vaccine, to use it in our country in 1959.”
—Dr. Mikhail Chumakov to Albert Sabin, letter of December 26, 1958

In the first five months of 1959, ten million children in the Soviet Union received the Sabin oral vaccine. Albert Sabin received a medal in gratitude from the Russian government during the height of the cold war.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/polio/virusvaccine/vacraces2.htm

 

[cjjtulsa]

Okay...one more.

As a kid, they lined us up one time and as we walked up to the nurse's desk we were given a shot in the arm with a pistol/syringe.
It looked like it was hooked up to an air tank, with two little bottles of vaccine on top of the gun.

What was that?

The "Believe In The Moon Landing" vaccine?



Kidding. Only kidding.

 

[RidgeHunter]

I work with a guy whose legs ain't quite right due to polio as a kid. He gets around fine, though. I forget his age, but he's not that old.

 

[10Seconds]

Okay...one more.

As a kid, they lined us up one time and as we walked up to the nurse's desk we were given a shot in the arm with a pistol/syringe.
It looked like it was hooked up to an air tank, with two little bottles of vaccine on top of the gun.

What was that?

Oh NO! You got that? That was part of the radiological and chemical experiments the army was conducting on american children at the time! Your doomed! J/K!

Actually, if you look at the process under which the vaccine was developed, it would not have been allowed to be developed today under our current regulations. If the world does get a new vaccine, it will not come from the US.

 

[Lone Wolf '49]

My late father in law got polio in 1950 recovered decently, but ended up needing a cane rest of his life, but had braces on one leg for many years, should have used crutches but he was too proud to use anything more than a cane. Yes, I remember.

 

[gl55]

I remember getting some kind of vaccine given on a sugar cube. Probably around age 5, 6, or 7. Maybe 1960, 1961, 1962??? I think I went to Coronado Elementry School to get it even though I didn't go to school there.

 

[dennishoddy]

I remember getting my drops. Too late for the neighbor girl. She had to wear leg braces all the way theough high school. I haven't seen her since.

 

[okie98]

In the third grade (1955) one of my classmates contracted Polio. Each of us had to take a series of GG shots over a 6 month period. We were later given the Salk shot. Years late I got the Sabin sugar cube. I was lucky but, others were not.

 

[deerwhacker444]

I've know a few folks who had polio as kids. Really disfigured them for life.

With all that people lived thru getting rid of polio...then you see people like this,...

Really makes me mad that people like this could bring about a resurgence of a killer disease.

FFwd to 3:50...

 

[264killer]

I was born in 1941 had polio when i was 23 months months old. had to learn to walk again