A Brief History of Polio Research

In 1953, Dr. Francis Salk published his findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. By 1954, he had large amounts of an injectable vaccine and was ready for large trials. He tested it on institutionalized kids who were disabled or mentally handicapped as well as on himself, his wife, and his own kids. The main field trial was massive, 1.8 million kids in the US, Canada, and Finland at 215 test sites.