American History Tellers Conquering Polio | Beyond the Microscope | 2
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Jan 14, 2026 In the race against polio, the National Foundation's Basil O'Connor seeks fresh talent, leading him to a young Jonas Salk. Tensions rise as Salk begins developing a killed-virus vaccine, clashing with rival Albert Sabin, who champions a live-virus approach. Salk's rigorous trials with monkeys yield promising results, yet ethical dilemmas emerge as he secretly tests on humans. As polio cases peak, O'Connor fights to expedite vaccine trials, navigating public skepticism and internal opposition to bring hope in a time of crisis.
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Foundation Shifted Science Toward Results
- The NFIP centralized and redirected polio research toward results over academic prestige.
- Harry Weaver recruited younger scientists like Jonas Salk to do tedious but necessary vaccine groundwork.
Salk’s Grueling Virus Typing Campaign
- Salk accepted a generous NFIP grant and spent years typing 196 poliovirus strains using thousands of monkeys.
- His team worked seven days a week and sacrificed roughly 17,000 monkeys to classify the virus types.
Tissue Culture Breakthrough Enabled Vaccines
- John Enders' discovery that poliovirus grows in monkey kidney tissue created a safe, abundant virus source.
- This breakthrough made large-scale vaccine production feasible and won Enders a Nobel Prize.