The announcement of the polio vaccine's safety and effectiveness was on April 12, 1955, by Thomas Francis, Jr., of the University of Michigan, the monitor of the test results. Within minutes of his announcement to the audience of scientists and reporters, news of the event was carried coast to coast by wire services and radio and television newscasts. When the vaccine was announced as successful, it led to spontaneous celebrations across the United States. It was the world's first successful polio vaccine, declared "safe, effective, and potent."[1] It was possibly the most significant biomedical advance of the past century.[1]
In 1954, the year leading up to the announcement, polio was killing more American children than any other infectious disease. Jonas Salk's vaccine was made ready for its third and final field tests. It became the most elaborate program of its kind in history, involving 20,000 physicians and public health officers, 64,000 school personnel, and 220,000 volunteers.[2] At least one hundred million people had contributed to the March of Dimes, and seven million people had donated their time and labor.[3]: 138
Even before the announcement, optimism and hope were so widespread that the Polio Fund in the U.S. had already contracted to purchase enough of the Salk vaccine to immunize 9,000,000 children and pregnant women the following year. Around the world, the official news prompted an immediate international rush to vaccinate.
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