Voices from the Polio Era - Student Handout
In the early 1950s, polio epidemics hit record highs, and parents spent their summers wondering where the virus was lurking. Examine real primary sources, including newspaper articles, photos and disease maps, to discover how families, doctors and communities weighed the risks of polio against the promise of the first Salk vaccine trials. This handout supports the Voices from the Polio Era: Documents of Fear, Hope and Choice teaching guide.
Topics
- polio
- poliomyelitis
- poliovirus
- polio epidemic
- polio vaccine
- Salk vaccine
- Jonas Salk
- vaccine trials
- clinical trials
- vaccine safety
- informed consent
- iron lung
- paralysis
- disease outbreaks
- disease morbidity maps
- public health
- vaccine hesitancy
- misinformation
- history of medicine
- primary sources
- document analysis
- 1950s