Knock-Out Polio Day in Marin: September 23, 1962
By Carol Acquaviva
Today, many of us are lining up (or attempting to line up) to receive a vaccine to prevent COVID-19, a critical step to suppress a deadly communicable virus that has so far taken 2.7 million lives worldwide.
In the 1950s, a dreaded common enemy was poliomyelitis, or polio, a disease that, at its worst, can cause infection of the spinal cord and brain, rapid paralysis, and death. Like COVID-19, there is no cure for polio, although its eradication is largely attributed to prevention by vaccine.
Although it has existed for thousands of years, polio began to be a serious public concern in the early 1900s. It was suspected that when Franklin Delano Roosevelt fell ill in 1921, it was due to polio, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. In 1938, he founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (known today as the March of Dimes) — a step which led to the eventual development of polio vaccines.
Polio surges struck the United States in the first half of the 20th century, with outbreaks causing paralysis in more than 15,000 individuals, often children. An epidemic was declared in New York City in 1916, and over two thousand deaths resulted. Cases spiked in the early 1950s, coinciding with the post-war baby boom. A vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was widely distributed starting in 1955, and proved to be somewhat effective: the number of mild, non-paralyzing polio cases dropped. However, the percentage of paralytic cases continued to rise dramatically.
Suspicions about the efficacy of vaccines grew in 1955, when batches manufactured by Cutter Laboratories of Berkeley potentially exposed tens of thousands of children to polio, and left five children dead and dozens paralyzed. The Cutter-produced vaccine had been given to children in Marin County without incident. Regardless, the general public perception of mass vaccinations changed considerably as a result of this vaccine-associated illness, and vaccination became a hard sell.
By 1961, the Sabin vaccine — named for its inventor, Dr. Albert B. Sabin — began commercial distribution in the United States, and supplanted the Salk vaccine. The Sabin vaccine was a few drops of tasteless, odorless medicine delivered on a sugar cube, or for the very young, directly on the tongue. This was a “live virus,” and considered more effective than the “dead virus” Salk vaccine, given by needle. This new inoculation seemed to give immunity from the disease and eliminate the ability of a person to be a carrier. Even those who had been affected with polio before getting Sabin vaccine were advised to take it, to prevent falling ill from an additional strain.
Today we may receive one or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine depending on the manufacturer. Then, the Sabin vaccine required three doses, each taken about five weeks apart. These three doses would target each of the three distinct strains of the polio virus, with no additional booster shots required.
Soon, it was urged that everyone over the age of three months in Marin and elsewhere to receive the Sabin vaccine. Medical communities had a challenge: they needed to get everyone inoculated, as quickly as possible, a feat requiring delivery of medical resources, efficient execution and a bit of p.r.
A public health campaign in Marin (and elsewhere) named “K.O. Polio” was publicized with the cooperation of local TV, radio, parent-teacher associations, the Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other service and civic clubs. “K.O. Polio” centers set up in schools, churches, and community centers. In Marin, the word went out for the first dose to be given on Sunday, September 23, 1962: “K.O. Polio Sunday, Sabin Vaccine, Free to All.”
The U.S. Surgeon General, Luther L. Terry, called upon everyone in the Bay Area to participate. He lauded the Sabin vaccine as a “safe and effective weapon” against the disease.
Stored in a warehouse building at Marin General Hospital, the vaccine was distributed to twenty sites across the county. Hundreds of volunteers were given the vaccine a few days prior to the big day, as a “dry run” rehearsal event at Marin Catholic High School in Greenbrae.
On September 23, under supervision of the Marin County Medical Society, sugar lumps dosed with the serum were given to seemingly endless lines of men, women, and children. A 25-cent donation per person to off-set costs was requested but not required. The American Legion offered free transportation to those who needed it.
On that sunny Sunday, About 85% of Marin, or 128,000 people, were given the a dose of the vaccine. Over 2,200 people showed up at Lagunitas School in San Geronimo, and nearly 6,000 at Manor School in Fairfax. The pop-up clinic at San Rafael High School alone inoculated 11,687 individuals, the most out of all Marin “K.O. Polio” locations.
The wait was often long that day, but as one gentleman standing in line quipped, “Why shouldn’t we be happy? We’re all going to get sugar.”
Dr. Eugene P. Shatkin was the Chairman of the K.O. Polio campaign in Marin, and directed the tremendous effort of organization that preceded September 23, and the follow-up events. Dr. Shatkin thanked the doctors and volunteers, and described the event as “the most heart-warming experience for all of us, and in particular for the [Marin] Medical Society’s K.O. Polio Committee, who are volunteering their time on this program.”
Dr. Shatkin continued:
“This was an unprecedented demonstration of what can be accomplished when the efforts of the entire community are joined in a common purpose for the public health.”
The story of the polio virus — including treatments to help those afflicted, and vaccines that were developed along the way — is complex. Although polio has been largely eliminated from the United States, sadly the disease still appears in some areas, with 175 globally-reported cases in 2019, according to the World Health Organization. Polio remains classified as an endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Still, in much of the world, polio stands as a prime example of a disease largely eradicated by preventative medicine: public health education and modern mass inoculations. We hope for a similar success in the elimination of COVID-19.
