Modern Marvels: In Search of the Polio Vaccine

The History Channel invites viewers to revisit the first half of the 20th century, when polio presented a real threat to people in wealthy and poor places all over the world. Attacking without warning, the disease kept people bedridden for months on end, left victims crippled, and contributed to countless deaths. While many funds were put towards finding a polio cure in the early 1900s, little help was found, even among the world's finest doctors. It was not until halfway through the 20th century that a young American doctor named Jonas Salk came up with a promising solution--a vaccine that would prevent people from developing polio in the first place. IN SEARCH OF THE POLIO VACCINE shows how this vaccine came to be, and illustrates how much it was needed through testimonies by several polio victims, medical professionals, and historians.