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Why Is Polio Important In The 1950s?

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Throughout the 19th and 20th century, there have been medical inventions and discoveries that have prevented countless medical conditions and diseases, resulting in healthier lives for American citizens. Although there were many inventions and discoveries made throughout this period, the 1950s had the largest impact on the lives of American citizens. Throughout the decade, many impactful discoveries were made that have both saved and drastically lengthened the lives of many people. Because of this, the 1950s were one of the most important decades for the discovery of medical diseases and conditions. The key medical advancements made during the 1950s include the creation of the polio vaccine that has saved countless lives since its creation, …show more content…

Polio (also known as poliomyelitis) is an infectious virus that causes paralysis and sometimes death in people infected by it. Polio is also extremely contagious, able to infect people through person to person contact and unsanitary conditions. The polio vaccine was originally created by Dr. Jonas Salk in the 1950s, and was shown to be 90% effective against types II and III polio, and 70% effective against type I polio. Because of the vaccines effectiveness, the United States government set a goal to vaccinate 30,000 children by the July of 1955. This goal was met, and caused a large portion of children in the United States to receive Salk’s version of the polio vaccine. Although the vaccine was effective, it was not a permanent solution to polio. After several years, a booster would be required to keep people immune to polio. This caused Albert Siben to begin development on another type of polio vaccine that would allow for easier administration and get rid of the need for booster vaccines. This resulted in the creation of the OPV (The Oral Polio Vaccine). Because of high portion of people in the United States that have already had the Salk polio vaccine, Siben used countries outside of the United States to test his version of the vaccine. After testing the vaccine in several other countries, it became apparent that Sabin’s vaccine was better than Salks. Because of the …show more content…

Different groups such as the American Lung Society and American Heart Society started advocating for stricter laws regarding cigarette advertising, and have helped inform the public about the effects that cigarettes could have on the body. Along with advocacy groups, taxes were also put into place to dissuade people from buying cigarettes. The changes that were put into place have allowed for Americans to make an informed decision on if they want to smoke, and the many risks associated with

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After tested successful for simulating human cells, HeLa cells were utilized in various field due to its high growth rate. One important medical breakthrough that involved the contribution of HeLa cells was the development of polio vaccine by Jonas Salk in 1951. Before this treatment was invented Polio was a serious problem that jeopardized the whole population. In addition, research regarding polio virus was slow because the monkey cells used to simulate human cells were expensive and the demand of cells was astronomical. However, after Gey discovered HeLa cells, National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) sought for the help of him and other experts.

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One of the biggest contribution was the polio vaccine.

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This allowed the vaccine to be cheap to research and have a low cost. Since it was cheap to research Albert Sabin was able to create an oral polio vaccine. The oral vaccine is now used to vaccinate people in developing countries. Around the 1950s there was a polio epidemic and the cheap cost made it available to everyone, and since 1979 there have been no reported cases of polio in the United States. It should be disclosed that at the time patenting a biological agent was unheard

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This allowed for more experiments to be done which lead to the development of the polio vaccine. As stated by Neil Bhavsar, “the vaccine developed… was only possible because HeLa cells were able to survive in Vitro. The HeLa cells were easy to infect and study, and therefore provided the perfect subject” (Bhavsar). The vaccine itself was developed by a scientists of the name of Jonas Salk. The ability for the cells to be easily infected allowed for the continued development of the polio vaccine.

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Polio is an infectious viral disease that affects the central nervous system. The year 1950, a year before Henrietta Lacks died, was the peak of the polio

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Polio: An American Story written by David Oshinsky highlights the journey to the discovery of a vaccine which would finally put an end to the once mysterious disease, Poliomyelitis. The journey begins in Otter Valley, Vermont, as it was the first Polio epidemic to be documented in the United States. Unknowingly, it would take years after the first epidemic in 1894 to find a solution for this frightening illness. The disease dates back to ancient time, with cases describing the victims to be left with disfigured limbs and some eventually to be paralyzed. Oshinsky identifies that the disease appeared in three phases: endemic, which occurs in a sporadically within a group of people, epidemic, in which it affected many people and spread rapidly,

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Polio was always an issue in the early 20th century in the United States, with cases numbering the ten

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Originally, the recommendation given was to create a microbe, almost invisible to the eye that would later attack the immune system resulting in death. As ideas were passed through it eventually lead to the conclusion of making vaccines instead. The main victims of this project were Africans, Hispanics, people with limited resources, largely populated continents, and a vast population of the third world. To WHO these subjects were seen as unfit or unneeded.

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Jonas Stalk created another vaccine against poliomyelitis, a disease that causes polio. It was the second vaccine against the disease that had been made. Stalk’s vaccine helped save the lives of many people and prevented many polio outbreaks in the United States. His vaccine undoubtedly led to the creation of many more vaccines. It helps people today by prevent most of poliomyelitis.

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Salk also administered the vaccine to his wife and two sons as a precaution. Salk’s research and implication of the drug was funded and supported by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Salk’s vaccine was almost replaced by an oral drug created by Albert Sabin. Albert created this vaccine with the “live” virus and the price of his was significantly lower than the price of Jonas Salk’s vaccine. Unfortunately, this vaccine created by Albert Sabin started to infect people and this made Jonas Salk’s vaccine the only one that was safe and

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Those against mandatory vaccines deem that the chickenpox, measles, rubella and rotavirus all have symptoms that can be treated with oral medicines and creams. Vaccine-preventable diseases have not disappeared so vaccination is still necessary and the diseases that decreased tremendously were due to the impact of vaccines. The CDC notes that many vaccine-preventable diseases are still in the United States or "only a plane ride away." Although the paralytic form of polio has largely disappeared thanks to vaccination, the virus still exists in countries like Pakistan where there were 93 cases in 2013 and 71 in 2014 as of May 15. The polio virus can be incubated by a person without symptoms for years; that person can then accidentally infect an unvaccinated child or adult in whom the virus can mutate into its paralytic form and spread amongst unvaccinated people.

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Although of an unfamiliar name, Jonas Salk is a hero. Responsible for the creation and development of the polio vaccination, he saved millions of children's lives. Granting all this, I discovered that Salk had

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Polio made its mark on America’s history both from people with and without Polio, and despite it being cured Polio has changed the United States and

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Vaccinations When it comes to vaccinations, there are many different opinions on immunizing a child, especially when that child’s parent has a strong like or dislike towards vaccinating. Immunizations have existed for at least a thousand years and as technology advances more, there are new vaccines being designed to help protect our children from contracting contagious and sometimes deadly diseases, such as Bordetella pertussis, polio, and even influenza. For decades, all 50 states have required that parents vaccinate their children against various diseases, including polio and measles, as a prerequisite to enrolling them in public schools (Ciolli, 2008). Enrollment in public school requires up to date vaccinations in order to protect the children and even the adults from contracting and spreading a disease, possibly causing an epidemic.

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Vaccinations can help prevent future diseases or viruses in the upcoming life of a child. According to an article from vaccines.gov, “Because of advances in medical science, your child can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction- primarily due to stay safe and effective vaccinations.” Throughout the years more viruses have been prevented due to vaccinations in children. There has also been an increase in the amount of children that get vaccinations at a young age.

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