MCHD highlights the importance of polio vaccination 04.27.26

April 27, 2026

MCHD highlights the importance of polio vaccination

MOBILE, Ala. — Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children under age 5 and can spread through contact with fecal contamination or, less commonly, through respiratory droplets. Once inside the body, poliovirus multiplies in the throat and intestines and can sometimes invade the nervous system, leading to paralysis.

In 1952, the peak year for U.S. outbreaks, nearly 21,000 cases resulted in paralysis and 3,000 deaths, and many patients required iron lungs to help them breathe because of paralyzed chest muscles.

In April 1955, Dr. Thomas Francis Jr. announced at the University of Michigan that Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was “safe, effective and potent” following a landmark March of Dimes-funded trial, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower later honored Salk at the White House for a breakthrough that brought hope and relief to families across America.

The polio vaccine campaigns of the 1950s drove cases down to fewer than 100 per year within a decade. That dramatic decline showed how quickly widespread vaccination can change the course of a once-feared disease and protect communities from severe illness.

“Polio once caused widespread fear, paralysis, and death, but vaccination changed that reality. Maintaining strong immunization coverage is essential to protecting our community and preventing the return of diseases that vaccines have helped control,” said Dr. Kevin Michaels, Health Officer for Mobile County.

Vaccines are widely available at many pharmacies and doctors’ offices throughout the county, and vaccination remains the best way to reduce severe illness and hospitalization from vaccine-preventable disease.