07/22/2021
Mothers and dads of children growing up in the 1950s had their children perform stiffness checks. They must put their chins into their chest and touch their toes. People panicked. There was neither a cure nor protection for polio. Nightmares were made of thoughts of the iron lungs. Then in 1955, the polio vaccine was available in the United States.
Polio: An American Story, a Pulitzer Prize-winning book by David Oshinsky, enlightened the public on the dangers of polio and the importance of eradicating this dreaded disease. Today, polio is almost conquered worldwide.
Smallpox caused fluid-filled bumps, both internally and externally, to erupt all over a person's body. The mortality rate was 30%. Five million people died from smallpox during the 20th century. There was no cure, only prevention from being vaccinated.
Vaccination for smallpox was compulsory due to the disease's severity. Anti-vaccination leagues claiming they were defending their personal liberties rebelled. Some certificates showing, they had been vaccinated were forged, leading to people showing their smallpox scare left after vaccination as the proof of having a shot.
Most of the developed world had conquered smallpox by the middle of the 1950s. However, Ali Maow Maalin acquired smallpox caused by variola minor in 1977 from riding in a vehicle with two smallpox patients. He is accredited as being the last person to have naturally contracted this virus. History of Smallpox | Smallpox | CDC.
There is a common denominator between polio, smallpox, and COVID. The threat will remain until people realize they need the protection provided by vaccinations. The only way we will return to everyday existence is to eradicate this dreaded virus. The only way to eliminate it is to be vaccinated.
