​Childhood/Education

"Risks, I like to say, always pay off. You learn what to do and what not to do"
​- Jonas Salk 1976

​Jonas Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York, NY, to Daniel and Dora Salk. They thought very highly of their son and his education was top priority. By the age of twelve, he entered Townsend Harris High School for Gifted Students. He graduated high school at the age of 15. and decided to study for a medical degree at the New York University School for Medicine.



​"I believe that this is all linked to my original ambition or desire, which was to be of some help to human kind, so to speak, in a larger sense than just on a one-to-one basis."
Jonas Salk talks about schooling.
​achievement.org
May 1991

About Polio

Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus and is commonly contracted by mouth. Polio normally lies in the intestine. One out of 200 victims become permanently paralyzed. Polio moves from the intestines to the nervous system. Many symptoms were unnoticeable; because of this, schools were delayed, swimming pools, beaches, playgrounds, and other public places were closed. 
In the peak of the epidemic in 1952, 3,145 people died and 21,269 out of 58,000 cases (that were reported) were left with inferential paralysis. This rendered them from participating in everyday activities. Two years before Salk's vaccine became available, the average number of U.S. cases was about 45,000. However, by the year 1962, that average number dropped to about 910. 10% of polio victims have an increased risk of death unless put into artificial respiratory system known as the iron lung.