The Polio Vaccine

Imagine a fatal disease that you could not see, touch, cure, or hear. This deadliest disease is known as the polio virus. The polio virus causes paralysis of the arms, legs, and chest muscles. The disease used to be called “infantile paralysis”, because it was most common in children. Many could no longer walk again without the use of leg braces. Others could not breathe without the help of machines. This disease caused terror all over the world. People couldn’t figure out how it came about, who the victims would be, or how to cure it. Today, polio does not exist because of the incredible discovery of the polio vaccine. Jonas Salk freed the world from the deadly disease and the fear that encompassed it.
During the summer of 1916, a polio

epidemic had impacted the United States. Health officials believed it was caused by crowds, but there was no definite answer. Polio is said to be caused by a virus. Viruses can cause illnesses including the common cold, and measles. The polio virus however, causes very harmful effects on the body including damage to nerves in the spinal cord. Jonas salk luckily never attained the polio virus. He and his family moved to the northern side of New York, and he attended college in 1929. He originally wanted to go to law school, but when he graduated in 1934, he changed his mind and became a doctor. After graduation, he worked in a laboratory with Dr. Thomas Francis Jr. He was a professor at NYU medical school, and was highly trained in the field of microbiology. They were looking into ways of making a vaccine from a dead virus. They were hoping if the vaccine was injected into a person, their bodies would create antibodies that would fight against the recognized disease. The antibodies would fight the invaders and germs that could potentially make them sick.
In March 1940, Jonas Salk was chosen out of many for an internship at a highly trained and experienced hospital. He worked alongside knowledgeable medical professionals at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Jonas interned there for two years. He wrote a letter to his old teacher, Dr. Francis asking for a job. While he waited for a response, the U.S. government had a job for him to either join the military or research national defense. He decided to work for Dr. Francis at the School of Public Health.