“It’s very possible this could impact the polio vaccine. Oshinsky Tells the gripping story of the polio terror and of the intense effort to find a cure, from the March of Dimes to the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccines-and beyond.

“What I am worried about today is that the pushback against the covid vaccine may well have an impact on other childhood vaccines in the United States,” Oshinsky said. Scientists are also concerned that shifting attitudes around inoculation could make a polio outbreak harder to stamp out. Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for History The gripping story of the 1950s polio scare and of the intense-and intensely bitter-competition to find the first vaccine. Only a tiny fraction of polio infections lead to paralysis, making scientists particularly concerned about the case in New York it could mean many more cases have gone undetected. If the vaccine works, people think the virus is gone, meaning there’s no need to get vaccinated for it.

“Vaccines have become a victim of their own success,” said Orenstein. Oshinsky also shows how the polio experience revolutionized the way in which the government licensed and tested new drugs before allowing them on the market, and the way in which the legal system dealt with manufacturers liability for unsafe products. A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a polio vaccination campaign in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2022.Įxperts now fear dips in vaccination rates and an uptick in detection mean polio won’t be contained to those communities for long. Oshinsky 4.4 (16) Paperback View All Available Formats & Editions Buy New 13.95 Buy Used 11.23 Overview Here David Oshinsky tells the gripping story of the polio terror and of the intense effort to find a cure, from the March of Dimes to the discovery of the Salk and Sabin vaccinesand beyond.

Polio by David M. Oshinsky