How I Survived The Dreaded Polio Epidemic

In the 1950's, I lived through the worst pandemic imaginable.  Polio, a highly contagious virus that crippled and killed mostly children, raged in America.  Parents shivered in fear their child would be the next victim. Some big cities closed pools, schools and churches.  Businesses remained open.

Despite these precautions, the evil scourge refused to flee. Parents shielded their kids from the knowledge of the deadly virus.   I remember hearing whispers from classmates in first grade.  They spoke in hushed tones about a friend who had suffered paralysis. No one mentioned death. 

With the Coronavirus continuing its deadly march across the globe, there are lessons the world could learn from the battle against polio.  Like COVID, polio was not a new pathogen.  Scientists now know it had existed for thousands of years.  However, medical science was in its infancy.

Polio spread unchecked throughout the developed world. By 1910, frequent outbreaks occurred in the United States, striking in the summer months in large cities.  In the 1940's and 1950's polio killed or paralyzed over a half million people worldwide every year.

By the late 1940's, polio outbreaks in America spiked, crippling an average of more than 35,000 each year.  The victims were mostly kids.  Parents sheltered their children indoors.  Travel and commerce between cities was sparingly restricted.  Fear paralyzed a nation just recovering from World War II.

The prevalence of polio in summer triggered a popular explanation that flies were guilty of infecting the innocent.  Cities began dousing their neighborhoods with highly toxic pesticide DDT in hopes of eradicating the disease.  Yet the number of cases grew larger each season.

I recall the infamous "fog" machines roaring at nightfall in Jennings, Louisiana, during 1951.  Kids treated the evening distraction as a welcome event.  I remember chasing the foggers with friends, inhaling the deadly toxin.  No one ever warned us it was dangerous.

In 1952, the number of polio cases reached a peak of 52,000. Surveys found Americans feared only nuclear annihilation more than polio.  Americans were traumatized.  Parents felt helpless because the disease struck in random patterns. A national hysteria simmered because there was no vaccine.

My memory prickles at the time I saw a boy in metal leg braces struggling with metal crutches.  I cringed at the thought that could be me or a sibling.  When I was older, I met a boy trapped in a contraption called an iron lung. It was a terrifying sight and a sobering reminder that no one was safe.

Then a miracle happened.  On March 26, 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announced on national radio the development of a vaccine to halt polio in its tracks.  Dr. Salk became an instant celebrity.  President Dwight Eisenhower invited Dr. Salk to the White House.

What isn't well known about Dr. Salk's discovery is that it took nearly a decade to find a cure.  In 1948, he chaired a project funded by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to study polio.  He built a research team and directed their efforts during the next seven years in search of a vaccine.

Salk conducted the first human trials on former polio patients and on himself and family.  There were no government delays or insistence on endless trials to assure the vaccine's safety.  This was a war against a virus that demanded an urgent approach.

In 1954, Salk used his now famous vaccine on nearly two million American school children in what was billed as a clinical trial.  The vaccine was pronounced safe and effective.  Not many days after mass inoculations began, defective dosages of the vaccine were injected into 200,000 people.

Thousands of polio cases erupted; 200 children were paralyzed and 10 died.  The tragic incident delayed the inoculations for a short period.  Parents were undeterred even with the risks. Vaccinations resumed and by 1957 the number of polio cases in the United States nosedived to under 6,000.

I remember lining up with my siblings outside an elementary school for the shot.  The line snaked around the school.  Kids, yours truly included, whined and cried in anticipation of the dreaded needle sting.  Children leaving the school sobbed.  I was suffocated by fear waiting for the injection.

This recounting of the polio virus has some valuable lessons for Americans dealing with today's pandemic.  Here are a few I find illuminating:

Fear is a natural enemy during a pandemic.  We should recognize it and not criticize those who appear to be overreacting.  But in the 1950's , there was no social media.  Today unfortunately you find conspiracy theories, misinformation, anecdotal nonsense and a flood of pity parties online.

The media adds to our natural anxiety with around-the-clock news coverage.  People cannot escape the tide of bad news about mounting cases and deaths.  In the 1950's, there were fewer media outlets and the news coverage was less hysterical.  Media informed without inflaming panic.

Despite the relentless pandemic, the media never engaged in politicizing the government's handling of polio.  The Eisenhower Administration could have been blamed for the faulty batch of vaccine, which was labeled the "worst disaster in pharmaceutical history." The media refused to take the bait.

Another lesson is that vaccines require time to develop.  Anyone who thinks a safe and effective Coronavirus vaccine will be in mass production soon may want to consider the polio experience.  Sure, today's scientists in labs and research facilities are armed with glittering technology.

However, this doesn't change the basic science of learning what triggers the virus, how it spreads, its molecular properties and a host of other issues.  Honest scientists will admit there are still many unknowns about Coronavirus.  We don't have all the answers.  You cannot rush science.

Another feature of the Polio experience was the willingness of parents to subject their kids to vaccinations even in the face of a disturbing setback.  Imagine today if that happened when the Coronavirus vaccine was newly released.  There would be an outcry to halt all vaccinations.

Add to that the unhealthy aversion many parents have to the idea of vaccinations for childhood diseases, such as measles and mumps. As many as 7 of 10 adults in some communities refuse to allow their kids to be vaccinated.  Will the Coronavirus vaccination be any different?

Finally, we must realize there is nothing unusual or new about a pandemic.  The world has lived with far worst infectious diseases than Coronavirus.  For those experiencing it for the first time, it is a nightmare.  The media has failed us by not putting this virus into perspective to calm the distress.

Sadly, more viruses will visit us in the future.  We live and trade in a global economy, where travel between nations is a staple of business and pleasure.  Most diseases are transmitted by humans.  All humanity must accept this risk and insist nations bolster preparedness for the next pandemic.