April 18, 2025 • 9 mins
For Shop Talk, Tom Purcell celebrates the 70th anniversary of the polio vaccine.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Shop Talk number forty nine. I am not Bill Courtney. Guys,
this is Alex Cortez. I failed and my duties as
a producer to get enough shop Talks from Bill. He
has been out of town for three weeks and we
did not get enough of them, so you were stuck
with me. Good luck, y'all. But thankfully this week for
(00:23):
shop Talk, we actually have a great story from a
nationally syndicated columnist named Tom Purcell who sent a story
into us, and it's about a big seventieth anniversary milestone
in the country's history that you're about to hear about.
Right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors, and
(00:50):
we now hear from nationally syndicated columnist Tom Purcell.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
She came home with a high temperature, feeling very ill.
The next morning, her legs gave up when she tried
to get out of bed. By the evening, she was
so weak she could barely move. It was nineteen fifty
one when polio struck her. She was twelve years old,
just starting the eighth grade. The nation was in a panic. Then.
(01:15):
The ambulance driver wouldn't take her to the hospital, fearing
that other patients might become infected. Her uncle had a car, though,
despite unknown risks to his own family, he drove her
to the hospital. Her father told her not to worry,
to placate her. He said she had a new virus
called virus X. She found it odd then that she
(01:37):
was placed in the polio ward with other children. She
told the nurse she didn't have polio, she had virus X,
just like her father told her. The nurse nodded knowingly,
but said there was a possibility it was polio. Now
the girl was really worried, worried about her family. She
wrote her parents a letter. She hinted that she might
(02:01):
have polio, but that she was going to be okay.
Her father cried out loud when he read it. The
county Health department quarantined her family for two weeks, posting
a notice on the family's front door. Only her father
could come and go for work. Within fifteen days, polio
(02:21):
had ravaged her body, partially paralyzing her limbs and weakening
her neck. She was moved to the D. T. Watson
Home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to begin her long and painful rehabilitation.
A year later, she returned home with a full back brace,
leg braces and crutches. The principal recommended she not returned
(02:43):
to school, fearing for her safety, but her father insisted
she be treated like anyone else, and back to school
she went. Friends took turns driving her to school, classmates
carried her books. The school adjusted her schedule so she
only had to navigate the stairs once each day. Her
(03:03):
rehab continued for two years, though she would always need crutches.
The braces eventually came off. Determined to be independent, she
decided to walk to school one day, over a mile
up a steep Pittsburgh hill. Soon she walked every day,
beautiful and lively. She made many friends. Her senior year,
(03:26):
her classmates voted her Queen of Carrick High School for
a spring social event. Eventually, she married, had four children,
and now has eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Now
eighty six, she has lived a wonderful life with her
beloved husband, who she lost recently after sixty three years
of marriage. This remarkable person is my aunt Cecilia, my
(03:49):
mother's sister. While at the DT Watson Home, she bravely
volunteered for doctor Salt's early trials, aiding the advancement of
polio research recognition of her selflessness. She would later receive
the Povirello Medal from the College of Steubenville. Back in
the nineteen fifties, fear and doubt about polio were rampant,
(04:11):
but the nation didn't dwell on problems. We did what
Americans always do. We focused on solutions. The March of
Dimes mobilized millions to raise money so that doctor Sulk
and other researchers could carry on well. Seventy years ago,
on April twelve, nineteen fifty five, the vaccine was declared
safe and effective. It's easy to see the clarity of
(04:36):
past successes, but harder to find it in today's challenges.
The country appears divided, with many voices focusing on what
is wrong, But we know the best way forward is
to unite and focus on what we can make right,
just as my ane Cecilia did.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And thank you so much, Tom for a beautiful story
about your aunt. As you guys just heard. On April twelve,
nineteen fifty five, was when the first polio vaccine was
licensed and was rolled out massively across the country. So
the seventieth anniversary was just a few days ago, and guys.
You know, I'm only thirty six. I do not have
much familiarity with polio, and I'm guessing that's true for
(05:16):
a lot of folks my age and younger, and probably
even many folks of every age is across the country.
So I decided to do a little bit more research
for this shop talk, and I was curious what the
peak was like with polio in the country, and it
was in nineteen fifty two, with more than twenty one
thousand paralytic cases across the country. And as you heard
Tom mentioned too, I mean, people were just so afraid
(05:37):
of getting this virus from other people that they were
crossing the street to avoid people you know, had polio,
or you know, the ambulance wouldn't even pick his ann up.
So this vaccine was a huge deal to help eradicate
that and to the point where it's really not an
issue in the US anymore. A couple of other things
that we may be a little bit familiar with, but
I'd love to dive deeper into, is Fdr. Many people
(06:00):
know had polio, and FDR was also the founder of
March of Dimes and he actually became the face on
the dime in nineteen forty six, and March of Dimes
grew to the point that they had thirty one hundred
chapters of it across the country. This grassroots movement, their
own army of normal folks who raised money, and their
grassroots funding went to a ton of different researchers out there,
(06:23):
including this young physician named doctor Jonas Soak, and I
found this next part fascinating. After he developed the vaccine,
it was then tested in a ginormous field trial in
nineteen fifty four that involved one point eight million school
children who became known as the Polio Pioneers. That's its
(06:44):
own army and normal folks right there, guys. I mean,
that is a lot of bravery for these kids and
their parents to have this their kids tested by this
then unknown thing and something that we've all been the
beneficiaries of. And this vaccine has been so effective that
the last case of wild poliovirus in the US was
in nineteen seventy nine. Unfortunately, it has plagued more of
(07:06):
the world for a longer period of time. And I
found this really cool that Rotary International has been a
big part in helping reduce it. Rodari has been working
to eradicate polio for more than thirty five years as
a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we
reduced polio cases by ninety nine point nine percent since
(07:27):
our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in
nineteen seventy nine, Rotary members have contributed more than two
point one billion dollars in countless volunteer hours to protect
nearly three billion children in one hundred and twenty two
countries from this paralyzing disease, and Rotary's advocacy efforts have
(07:47):
also encouraged governments to contribute more than ten billion dollars
to the effort. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan
and Pakistan, but it's crucial to continue working to keep
other countries polio free. If all eradication efforts stop today,
within ten years, polio could paralyze as many as two
(08:07):
hundred thousand children each year. And of course, it comes
back to an army of normal folks on so many levels,
those who got involved with the March of Dimes, those
who are the polio pioneers, and all the Rotary members
Rotary Club members across the country who've been involved in
eradicating it worldwide. All right, guys, Shop Talk number forty
(08:27):
nine the seventieth anniversary of the polio vaccine thanks to
our friend Tom Purcell. You could check out his work
at Tom Purcell dot com or email him at Tom
at tom Purcell dot com. And as always, if you
have ideas on shop Talks, email us at Army at
normalfolks dot us or Bill at normalfolks dot us. I
(08:48):
hope you will subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it,
share it with friends on social, Go to normalfolks dot
us and join the Army. Consider becoming a premium member
any and all of these things that will help us
grow an army of normal folks. I'm Alex Cortez. Until
next time, do what you can
Shop Talk number forty nine. I am not Bill Courtney. Guys,
this is Alex Cortez. I failed and my duties as
a producer to get enough shop Talks from Bill. He
has been out of town for three weeks and we
did not get enough of them, so you were stuck
with me. Good luck, y'all. But thankfully this week for
(00:23):
shop Talk, we actually have a great story from a
nationally syndicated columnist named Tom Purcell who sent a story
into us, and it's about a big seventieth anniversary milestone
in the country's history that you're about to hear about.
Right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors, and
(00:50):
we now hear from nationally syndicated columnist Tom Purcell.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
She came home with a high temperature, feeling very ill.
The next morning, her legs gave up when she tried
to get out of bed. By the evening, she was
so weak she could barely move. It was nineteen fifty
one when polio struck her. She was twelve years old,
just starting the eighth grade. The nation was in a panic. Then.
(01:15):
The ambulance driver wouldn't take her to the hospital, fearing
that other patients might become infected. Her uncle had a car, though,
despite unknown risks to his own family, he drove her
to the hospital. Her father told her not to worry,
to placate her. He said she had a new virus
called virus X. She found it odd then that she
(01:37):
was placed in the polio ward with other children. She
told the nurse she didn't have polio, she had virus X,
just like her father told her. The nurse nodded knowingly,
but said there was a possibility it was polio. Now
the girl was really worried, worried about her family. She
wrote her parents a letter. She hinted that she might
(02:01):
have polio, but that she was going to be okay.
Her father cried out loud when he read it. The
county Health department quarantined her family for two weeks, posting
a notice on the family's front door. Only her father
could come and go for work. Within fifteen days, polio
(02:21):
had ravaged her body, partially paralyzing her limbs and weakening
her neck. She was moved to the D. T. Watson
Home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to begin her long and painful rehabilitation.
A year later, she returned home with a full back brace,
leg braces and crutches. The principal recommended she not returned
(02:43):
to school, fearing for her safety, but her father insisted
she be treated like anyone else, and back to school
she went. Friends took turns driving her to school, classmates
carried her books. The school adjusted her schedule so she
only had to navigate the stairs once each day. Her
(03:03):
rehab continued for two years, though she would always need crutches.
The braces eventually came off. Determined to be independent, she
decided to walk to school one day, over a mile
up a steep Pittsburgh hill. Soon she walked every day,
beautiful and lively. She made many friends. Her senior year,
(03:26):
her classmates voted her Queen of Carrick High School for
a spring social event. Eventually, she married, had four children,
and now has eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Now
eighty six, she has lived a wonderful life with her
beloved husband, who she lost recently after sixty three years
of marriage. This remarkable person is my aunt Cecilia, my
(03:49):
mother's sister. While at the DT Watson Home, she bravely
volunteered for doctor Salt's early trials, aiding the advancement of
polio research recognition of her selflessness. She would later receive
the Povirello Medal from the College of Steubenville. Back in
the nineteen fifties, fear and doubt about polio were rampant,
(04:11):
but the nation didn't dwell on problems. We did what
Americans always do. We focused on solutions. The March of
Dimes mobilized millions to raise money so that doctor Sulk
and other researchers could carry on well. Seventy years ago,
on April twelve, nineteen fifty five, the vaccine was declared
safe and effective. It's easy to see the clarity of
(04:36):
past successes, but harder to find it in today's challenges.
The country appears divided, with many voices focusing on what
is wrong, But we know the best way forward is
to unite and focus on what we can make right,
just as my ane Cecilia did.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And thank you so much, Tom for a beautiful story
about your aunt. As you guys just heard. On April twelve,
nineteen fifty five, was when the first polio vaccine was
licensed and was rolled out massively across the country. So
the seventieth anniversary was just a few days ago, and guys.
You know, I'm only thirty six. I do not have
much familiarity with polio, and I'm guessing that's true for
(05:16):
a lot of folks my age and younger, and probably
even many folks of every age is across the country.
So I decided to do a little bit more research
for this shop talk, and I was curious what the
peak was like with polio in the country, and it
was in nineteen fifty two, with more than twenty one
thousand paralytic cases across the country. And as you heard
Tom mentioned too, I mean, people were just so afraid
(05:37):
of getting this virus from other people that they were
crossing the street to avoid people you know, had polio,
or you know, the ambulance wouldn't even pick his ann up.
So this vaccine was a huge deal to help eradicate
that and to the point where it's really not an
issue in the US anymore. A couple of other things
that we may be a little bit familiar with, but
I'd love to dive deeper into, is Fdr. Many people
(06:00):
know had polio, and FDR was also the founder of
March of Dimes and he actually became the face on
the dime in nineteen forty six, and March of Dimes
grew to the point that they had thirty one hundred
chapters of it across the country. This grassroots movement, their
own army of normal folks who raised money, and their
grassroots funding went to a ton of different researchers out there,
(06:23):
including this young physician named doctor Jonas Soak, and I
found this next part fascinating. After he developed the vaccine,
it was then tested in a ginormous field trial in
nineteen fifty four that involved one point eight million school
children who became known as the Polio Pioneers. That's its
(06:44):
own army and normal folks right there, guys. I mean,
that is a lot of bravery for these kids and
their parents to have this their kids tested by this
then unknown thing and something that we've all been the
beneficiaries of. And this vaccine has been so effective that
the last case of wild poliovirus in the US was
in nineteen seventy nine. Unfortunately, it has plagued more of
(07:06):
the world for a longer period of time. And I
found this really cool that Rotary International has been a
big part in helping reduce it. Rodari has been working
to eradicate polio for more than thirty five years as
a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we
reduced polio cases by ninety nine point nine percent since
(07:27):
our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in
nineteen seventy nine, Rotary members have contributed more than two
point one billion dollars in countless volunteer hours to protect
nearly three billion children in one hundred and twenty two
countries from this paralyzing disease, and Rotary's advocacy efforts have
(07:47):
also encouraged governments to contribute more than ten billion dollars
to the effort. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan
and Pakistan, but it's crucial to continue working to keep
other countries polio free. If all eradication efforts stop today,
within ten years, polio could paralyze as many as two
(08:07):
hundred thousand children each year. And of course, it comes
back to an army of normal folks on so many levels,
those who got involved with the March of Dimes, those
who are the polio pioneers, and all the Rotary members
Rotary Club members across the country who've been involved in
eradicating it worldwide. All right, guys, Shop Talk number forty
(08:27):
nine the seventieth anniversary of the polio vaccine thanks to
our friend Tom Purcell. You could check out his work
at Tom Purcell dot com or email him at Tom
at tom Purcell dot com. And as always, if you
have ideas on shop Talks, email us at Army at
normalfolks dot us or Bill at normalfolks dot us. I
(08:48):
hope you will subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it,
share it with friends on social, Go to normalfolks dot
us and join the Army. Consider becoming a premium member
any and all of these things that will help us
grow an army of normal folks. I'm Alex Cortez. Until
next time, do what you can
Host
Bill Courtney
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