Polio vaccine and syringe
Photo courtesy of US National Museum of American History (221419) Gift of The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis
By 1943, vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis and smallpox were all being administered to school children. Polio remained a scourge until 1955.
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious virus that could strike at any age. It most often struck in the summer and fall. Serious cases damaged nerves and caused paralysis.
There were 9000 cases of polio in 1953, by 1965 there were only three cases.
Smallpox has been eradicated globally since 1977.