Who invented the polio vaccine?

The polio vaccine was invented by Dr. Jonas Salk, an American medical researcher and virologist, in 1955. Dr. Salk's discovery was the result of many years of research, and it was a major breakthrough in the fight against polio.

Polio, short for poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious disease that can cause paralysis and even death. In the early 20th century, polio epidemics were common in the United States and other parts of the world.

Dr. Salk began his research into polio in the late 1940s, working on a vaccine that would protect against all three strains of the virus. He used a killed virus to create the vaccine, which was then injected into people to stimulate the body's immune system to produce antibodies.

The vaccine was first tested in 1952, in a large-scale clinical trial involving over a million children. The results of the trial were highly successful, with the vaccine showing an effectiveness rate of over 90%. Following the success of the trial, the vaccine was made available to the public in 1955.

The discovery of the polio vaccine was a major turning point in the fight against polio. Since then, polio has been largely eradicated in the developed world thanks to widespread vaccination campaigns. However, there are still pockets of the world where polio remains a threat, and efforts are ongoing to eradicate the disease completely.