News Outlets Highlight 60th Anniversary Of Salk Polio Vaccine, Report On Microneedle Patch Vaccine Delivery System

CNN: 60 years after a vaccine, new technology may finally eradicate polio
“Over the last few years, we’ve been close to eradicating worldwide polio without full success. However, a new medical technology, an easily applied microneedle patch, could be the key to that goal. The biggest challenge standing in the way of eradicating polio has involved the operational logistics of getting the vaccine to people who need it, especially in difficult areas plagued by violence or poverty…” (Strickland/Landau, 4/10).

Forbes: Polio Vaccine Found “Safe and Effective” 60 Years Ago: What Would Salk Think Today?
“It was 60 years ago [Saturday] that the nation heaved an enormous collective sigh of relief. The largest clinical trial for a vaccine in history had concluded, the data had been collected and analyzed, and the results were announced on April 12, 1955, coincidentally the ten-year anniversary of polio sufferer Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death: Jonas Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine was ‘safe, effective, and potent’…” (Haelle, 4/13).

International Business Times: World Would Be Polio-Free In 3 Years
“A microneedle patch applied to the skin could help eradicate polio within three years. The small round adhesive bandage is applied on the skin by anyone, there is no need for a highly trained professional to do it. The introduction of the patch comes exactly 60 years ago when Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was declared safe and effective…” (Hernandez, 4/13).

NPR: Jonas Salk’s Polio Vaccine Makes A Comeback
“The injectable polio vaccine marks its 60th birthday today. For many people, it seems like a relic — isn’t the oral version, not the injectable, the vaccine that’s supposed to end polio within a few years? But after being eclipsed by the oral polio vaccine, the injectable version has made a quiet comeback in some developed countries, including the U.S. And now the vaccine introduced by physician Jonas Salk in 1955 is re-emerging on the global level. Health experts believe it is key to eliminating the disease in the developing world…” (Silberner, 4/12).

VOA News: Only Three Countries Left With Polio
“Sixty years ago on April 12, Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was declared safe and effective. In just three years, the entire world could be polio free…” (Pearson, 4/9).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

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