Percival Bazeley production of an important new weapon against disease. Twenty-five million doses of Salk Poliomyelitis vaccine were produced at CSL in the 1950s and 1960s under Dr. Bazeley's leadership as director of the government institution. This led to widespread recognition. He was awarded a C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) and was deservedly renowned in the general community where, for example, he was chosen as Victorian Father of the Year in 1958. In 1961, Dr. Bazeley returned to the United States to work with Jonas Salk at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. Subsequently, he joined UC
Jonas Salk assembled, devoted himself to this work for the next seven years. The field trial set up to test the Salk vaccine was, according to O'Neill, "the most elaborate program of its kind in history, involving 20,000 physicians and public health officers, 64,000 school personnel, and 220,000 volunteers." Over 1,800,000 school children took part in the trial. When news of the vaccine's success was made public on April 12, 1955, Salk was hailed as a "miracle worker" and the day almost became a national holiday. Around the world, an immediate rush to vaccinate began, with countries including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway,