Vaccine Resistance

One common theme of the Polio epidemic in Idaho and the United States is how afraid people were of it, even though at its worst polio cases peaked around sixty thousand per year nationwide. One poll at the time asked what people were most afraid of, and polio ranked second behind nuclear war. People were also very aware of the vaccine trials that were being conducted; a Gallup poll showed that more Americans knew about the trials than knew the name of the President. One aspect that is not as well known or acknowledged is the resistance and opposition to the vaccines that were developed to fight polio. Even though the polio vaccines proved to be effective and eventually ended the epidemic, the resistance to it was not completely without merit due to accidents like the Cutter Incident in 1955 in which live polio virus was given in 120,000 doses produced by the Cutter Laboratories in California. Well before these infections from the vaccine, however, the most well-known voice in opposition was Walter Winchell.

Walter Winchell was a radio news commentator who hosted a national weekly radio broadcast from the early 1930s through the early 1950s which at its height reached around 50 million people. Walter Winchell stirred controversy and fear in the United States when he said to his radio audience in April 1954 the vaccine “may be a killer.” Obviously, a message of such dire concern would and did strike even more fear and opposition to the newly developed vaccines on the eve of the largest vaccine test the nation had ever held. The notion that the very thing that was meant to end the epidemic could cause the same harm as the virus itself was cause for concern.

Unlike standards we have today in regard to regulations on testing of new vaccines, in the 1950’s the newly developed polio vaccines were tested in orphanages and prisons, and children being the most affected by the virus were the subjects of the testing. The two prevailing vaccination methods for polio were developed by Albert Sabin who introduced a live virus laced sugar cube, and Jonas Salk who provided a dead virus vaccine by the means of injection. Even though there was no guarantee of the effectiveness or safety of either vaccine, people still volunteered to take it and have their kids take it. Jonas Salk’s vaccine finished its trials in 1955 and Albert Sabin's sugar cubes completed trials in 1957.

The Cutter Incident occurred in April of 1955. Around 120,000 doses of Jonas Salk’s vaccine were contaminated with live polio virus and were distributed to children throughout California, Arizona, and Idaho. By the time reports of paralysis from the vaccine were identified and a recall was announced it was too late. The vaccine killed or paralyzed at least twenty-five children, seven of whom were in Idaho. Additionally, because the children were given a live polio virus the contagion spread to other children with whom the vaccinated children had contact creating another epidemic and leading to more deaths and paralysis. Even though there were tragic events like the Cutter incident the two vaccines did prove to be effective in ending the polio epidemic and stand as a great example of science overcoming great obstacles.

Brandon Cook, June 2021