I am old enough to remember the hysteria that surrounded poliomyelitis, or infantile paralysis, every summer season when it seemed to reach its peak. Only with the advent of the Salk-Sabin vaccination protocol was this dread disease with its capricious range of symptoms and after-effects brought under some kind of control.
Probably the actual infection was far more widespread than reports of the time indicated, as many cases were of such mild nature that it was no worse than a bad summer cold, while other infections became life-threatening or left the afflicted with lifelong disabilities. Such treatments as the “iron lung” and extended muscular retraining exercise were in wide practice during those times.
But defeat polio we did. Now, youngsters have no idea that the world has faced these kinds of threats before, and somehow, the bulk of humanity survived them. There have been some bad scares both before and since, and either the disease runs its course, or the pool of natural and contracted immunes grows to the degree that the disease is effectively checked.
“ There have been some bad scares both before and since, and either the disease runs its course, or the pool of natural and contracted immunes grows to the degree that the disease is effectively checked.“
It will all work out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end. But in the meantime it’s a mean time.
My mom had a scar from her time in an iron lung. Once when she was in the hospital a doc asked if he could bring in some students to see it, because they were kind of rare.
But you’re not old enough to remember the Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918); and that’s what this is beginning to look like - a 100 year pandemic
Polio...
Yeah, I remember going to eat the sugar cubes in the 60’s.