THINKER'S ALMANAC - April 12

According to the scientist Jonas Salk, how does nature grade humankind?

Subject:  Innovation - Polio Vaccine

Event:  Announcement that the polio vaccine was effective, 1955

Life is an error-making and an error-correcting process, and nature in marking man’s papers will grade him for wisdom as measured both by survival and by the quality of life of those who survive.— Jonas Salk

On Tuesday, April 12, 1955, people all over the world exhaled a collective sigh of relief as they heard one of the most eagerly anticipated announcements in history:  a vaccine for polio had been successfully tested and had been determined to be “safe, effective, and potent.”

The polio virus is highly infectious, and because it occurs most often in infants and young people, it is especially frightening.  For 1 percent of the population, the virus can result in paralysis.  

The hero who developed the vaccine was Jonas Salk.  Rather than using live viruses in his vaccine, which was the typical approach of immunologists, Salk decided to develop his vaccine using dead polio viruses. This approach opened him up for criticism by other scientists and doctors in the competition to be the first to develop a vaccine; one of Salk’s rivals called him nothing more than a “kitchen chemist.” 

Salk seemed immune to his critics' barbs, however. He worked diligently with his eyes on the prize.   In an unprecedented move, when he achieved his desired results, he did not go the typical route of vetting his results via the medical journal peer review process before making an announcement.  Instead, he announced his results on a nationally syndicated CBS radio program on March 26, 1953.

Clinical trials were conducted in 1954 on nearly 200 million schoolchildren using Salk’s vaccine and a placebo.  Finally, by April 1955 the medical community was ready to put its seal of approval on Salk’s vaccine and announce his success to the world.

Later in 1962, Salk’s rival, Albert Sabin developed an effective oral polio vaccine, and today polio has been nearly eradicated.  Salk never won a Nobel Prize for his work, but he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 (1).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How did Salk's approach to developing the polio vaccine run counter to conventional wisdom?

Challenge - Mind Over Body:  Jonas Salk is just one of the many heroes of medicine whose innovations have helped us all live better and longer lives.  Research some innovators and inventors in medicine, and identify one person who you think deserves to be recognized for his or her contribution.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

April 12, 1961:  Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space.  He said, “To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage, single-handed, in an unprecedented duel with nature-could one dream of anything more?”

Sources:

1-Palca, Joe. “Salk Polio Vaccine Conquered Terrifying Disease” National Public Radio 12 Apri 2005.