March 26, 1953
Jonas Salk Announces a Polio Vaccine
Historical context
On this day, March 26, 1953, Jonas Salk announced on CBS radio that a killed-virus polio vaccine had shown promising early results, not yet ready for general use.
Archive record
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- Date
- March 26, 1953
- Verified sources
- 1
- Archive threads
- 4
On this day, Jonas Salk told a CBS radio audience that a killed-virus polio vaccine had produced promising results in early human tests. He warned that a vaccine was not yet ready for widespread use.
Two days later he published the work in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Large field trials followed. In 1955 the vaccine was declared safe and effective. The 1952 U.S. epidemic had caused about 58,000 reported cases and more than 3,000 deaths.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Dr. Jonas Salk announces polio vaccine · HISTORY.com Editors · HISTORY View source
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