[aMorePerfectUnion]

“ I remember polio terror quite well ..don’t get in the water ...and have a close friend with it coming back in his upper body now in his 60s. The vaccine worked miracles simply put.”

Except the cases of polio were almost over when the vaccine was available...

[riverdawg]

“Except the cases of polio were almost over when the vaccine was available...”

The cases for *that particular outbreak* were diminishing at the time of the introduction of the Salk vaccine. However, the Salk and Sabin vaccines provided protection against future outbreaks that might have occurred (and did occur elsewhere). Here is an interesting article (I know, its NPR) pointing out the tragic consequences of some early, failed attempt at making a successful polio vaccine:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/10/16/162670836/wiping-out-polio-how-the-u-s-snuffed-out-a-killer

[Captain Peter Blood]

That is called Post Polio Syndrome and that does happen in that age bracket to former people who have had the disease.