Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, Jonas Salk

As one of the national heroes of the American twentieth century, Jonas Salk’s name rarely needs an introduction. In the 1950s, polio epidemics were on the rise across the globe, causing paralysis, mainly in children, and generating fear in the summer months when epidemic outbreaks reached their height. Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine offered hope in this public health crisis and the largest clinical trial in history in 1954 promised a solution that would eventually halt epidemics through a national vaccination programme. His name became forever connected to this feat and the vaccine emerged as a symbol of post-war medical progress. Supported by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the vaccine’s development was largely funded by the March of Dimes fundraising campaign. In a sense the Salt vaccine was a people’s vaccine paid by American households and their donating effort. Likewise, Salk emerged as a people’s scientist. He carved out a regular presence in TV, radio, newspapers and magazines where he presented his scientific work and findings to the public in an accessible way

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