On Apr. 12, 1955, the polio vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas Salk at the University of Pittsburgh was announced, exactly 10 years after the death of President Roosevelt, a victim of polio.  Instantly, Salk became a hero – a globally recognized household name. The relief and gratitude of parents worldwide were shown through awards, handwritten thank-you cards, and hundreds of newspaper headlines celebrating the news.

In 1957, in an effort to improve upon the killed Salk vaccine, Albert Bruce Sabin began testing a live, oral form of vaccine in which the infectious part of the virus was inactivated (attenuated). This vaccine became available for use in 1963.

The work of Jonas Salk is ongoing, his legacy is living on in the Rotary International’s End Polio Now campaign, which is leading us closer than ever to ridding our world of polio.