I,too, remember having to take the Salk vaccine when it first came out. It was the greatest blessing ever devised by Man.
Too late for my cousin Rosalee, she died a long,lingering death from this horrible disease, along with thousands of others, mostly children.
Thanks to vaccination, this disease has been all but eradicated.
Even those who survived the disease face problems later in life. Yeah, we should all refuse to be vaccinated for anything. /s
Rogue virus in the vaccine / Early polio vaccine harbored virus now feared to cause cancer in humans
Monkeys, viruses, and vaccines
These are only 2 of many articles about the link.
Thank God for the polio vaccine, it is beginning to look like this disease may be eradicated within the next few years. My mother-in-law had to wear a brace her whole life because her leg was weakened by polio when she was a child. She was one of the lucky ones. I'm sorry for your cousin.