| Existing comment:
Albert Sabin. A legend of modern medicine, his oral polio vaccine saved millions from crippling disease or death. He worked in polio research at Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research until the outbreak of World War II. At that time, he joined US Army between 1943-46. He returned to polio research after war, continuing a 30-year association with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Children's Hospital Research Foundation. He developed his oral polio vaccine by the mid 1950s. At the time, disease was one of the most feared, becoming highly contagious during summer months. In 1952 there were 21,000 reported cases, many requiring artificial breathing aid of so-called "iron lung." It has virtually disappeared since mass immunizations began in early 1960s with his live-virus vaccine, which was administered orally, on lump of sugar. Jonas Salk had already produced an injectable vaccine, and the two became rivals. |