Cold War tensions and the polio vaccine Cold War tensions and the polio vaccine Polio (Infantile paralysis or poliomyelitis) epidemics were a concern during the summer months for children globally, with records of polio from the Egyptians and Greeks to the 1950s epidemics. In the summer of 1921, this epidemic became notorious when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Democratic contender for the vice presidency, was struck down by polio at the age of 39. Two U.S. virologists, Jonas Salk of the University of Pittsburgh and Albert B. Sabin of the University of Cincinnati emerged as the most prominent among dozens of American researchers on the quest for a
Sabin Vaccine Institute contribution to the field of vaccinology or related fields. The award is given in honor of the work of Albert B. Sabin. Past recipients of the award include Samuel L. Katz (2003), Joseph L. Melnick (1996), and Ruth S. Nussenzweig (2008). Sabin Vaccine Institute Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin), located in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit (501(c)(3)) organization promoting global vaccine development, availability, and use. Through its work, Sabin hopes to reduce human suffering by preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable, communicable disease in humans through herd immunity, and also hopes to mitigate the poverty caused by these diseases. Founded in 1993