The process to public vaccination against polio was a long and arduous one, with many twists and turns that prevented a smooth rollout of something that would effectively cure the first well documented epidemic in the US.[1] The Salk trial alone in 1954 was the largest public health experiment in American history.[2] And while many were thrilled by the announcement that a vaccine was available in 1955, there were still those that were in opposition or just plain indifferent. Resistance grew especially after events such as the Cutter incident of 1955, which was called, “one of the worst biological disasters in American history…and destroyed faith in the vaccine enterprise.”[3] It was unfortunate, yet understandable that some Americans hesitated at willingly getting the vaccine by the late 1950’s. At the same time, polio was typically thought of as a childhood disease, despite residents contracting and suffering well into their adulthood. Because of these factors, many states, but especially Idaho, had to strongly and confidently promote and advertise the vaccine in order to get everyone vaccinated. These became known as vaccine campaigns.

The entire lifecycle of the polio vaccines was run by campaigns, both by city and county governmental offices, but also by private organizations. Nationally, state health agencies reported cooperation of the medical and pharmaceutical associations on promoting the vaccines, but states like Idaho didn’t have reported and developed plans for the intrastate control of the distribution and use of the vaccine.[4] By 1956 in most western states, city and county health departments found themselves needing to heavily promote the vaccines, all the while receiving push back at its safety and effectiveness. Health officials were told to make every effort possible in their communities to increase public interest in receiving the vaccine,[5] since public willingness was not very high. Like many other Idaho governmental actions, vaccine distribution was left as a local decision, by county and city agencies, which caused some discrepancies in how much of the vaccine was allocated to Idaho versus how much Idahoans were actually using. In 1958, there was an estimated 50 million shots of vaccine available,[6] but interest straggled in Idaho. In only five states, Idaho included, sales and circulation of the vaccine lagged sufficiently enough to require allocation to other states, leaving Idaho with low interest and low supply.[7]

As a result of the low interest and trust of the vaccines, Idaho officials approved a campaign known as “Knock-Out Polio”, or “KO Polio.” The KO Polio drive was sponsored by local medical associations, but was also used in other western states. In 1963, Pocatello, Idaho, held the first of a three-part KO Polio series of mass immunizations in eastern Idaho, with the hope to protect about 175,000 people in the area against polio with the Sabin oral vaccine.[8] Campaigns like this ran all across the state and country, to encourage the vaccination of every person in the United States. Luckily, the campaigns worked. In April of 1963, in Twin Falls, over 170,000 people turned out for the third KO Polio event, enabling the area to top the nation in participation.[9]

Taylor Baggerly, June 2021