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1955Polio

History of polio: Outbreaks and vaccine timeline

Learn about polio epidemics and the development, approval and impact of the polio vaccine.

Children and a teacher in wheelchairs with books and notebooks in a class at Saint Marys Hospital

Children with polio

Children and a teacher with polio participate in a class at Saint Marys Hospital.

1948-1955

Before a polio vaccine became available, several polio epidemics had occurred between 1948 and 1955. Many people avoided crowds and public gatherings, such as fairs, sports games and swimming pools, during this time due to concern about getting polio. Some parents wouldn’t let their children play with new friends and regularly checked them for symptoms.

At Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, many people with polio were treated in the isolation ward. Some people with polio whose breathing muscles were paralyzed were placed in large machines called iron lungs. These machines helped them breathe and may have helped them live longer. The hospital was short of medical staff. Doctors, nurses and others worked long hours during the epidemics.

A man with polio lays in an iron lung and speaks to former President Dwight Eisenhower

Iron lung

A man with polio in an iron lung talks with former President Dwight Eisenhower at Saint Marys Hospital.

1952-1955

Dr. Jonas E. Salk and colleagues research and develop a polio vaccine.

1955

The polio vaccine developed by Dr. Salk and colleagues is licensed in the U.S. Before the polio vaccine, the disease had been a major cause of disability in children. About 16,000 cases of polio (paralytic poliomyelitis) occurred each year in the U.S. in the 20th century compared with none in 2020.

The first polio vaccine arrives at Mayo Clinic on April 13, 1955, one day after it’s licensed in the U.S.

Dr. Thomas Magath sits at a desk looking at the first shipment of the polio vaccine at Mayo Clinic

Polio vaccine

Dr. Thomas Magath sits next to the first shipment of the polio vaccine at Mayo Clinic in 1955.

1961

Dr. Albert B. Sabin develops a second polio vaccine that is licensed in the U.S. A third polio vaccine will be licensed in 1963. These vaccines help control the spread of polio in industrialized countries.

1994

Polio is considered eliminated in North and South America.

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