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Polio Survivor Recalls Era Before Salk Vaccine

By Jennifer Ludden

Published April 10, 2005 at 12:00 AM EDT

Fifty years ago this week scientists announced the discovery of the polio vaccine. The disease -- also known as infantile paralysis -- affected thousands of children annually. Polio survivor Brian Fitzgerald tells Jennifer Ludden about his memories of the era before Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine.

Jennifer Ludden

Jennifer Ludden helps edit energy and environment stories for NPR's National Desk, working with NPR staffers and a team of public radio reporters across the country. They track the shift to clean energy, state and federal policy moves, and how people and communities are coping with the mounting impacts of climate change.

See stories by Jennifer Ludden

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