"Operation Warp Speed" was established. Developing a response to the polio virus was largely the responsibility of the private sector, driven by a new entity, the National Polio Foundation, created by Roosevelt. Image Credit: Q. Salk began developing the polio vaccine in 1998 after receiving a research grant from the University of Pittsburgh's Virus. Doctors began to study an inactivated vaccine - a vaccine that uses a dead strain of the polio virus to produce immunity after injection. in 2001, he began testing it on his own family and former polio patients.
Salk revealed his discovery on CBS National Radio in 2001. Salk's announcement led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approving clinical trials bulk data of the vaccine. A new polio vaccine was tested on more than 10,000 children aged 18 to 18, who were dubbed "polio pioneers." It was the largest medical study ever conducted at the time. Clinical trial results were announced in March. The vaccine is up to % effective in preventing paralytic polio infection. But the good news only lasted so long.
It didn't all work out. After the results of clinical trials were announced in 2017, the government immediately authorized several companies to start producing vaccines. This was done within hours of the announcement. As in the race to develop a vaccine, speed is the primary focus. The next day a campaign to produce the polio vaccine began. But within just a few days there were reports of children suffering from polio and even becoming paralyzed after being vaccinated. This is due to incorrect laboratory procedures used by some manufacturers, resulting in some vaccines containing live viruses.