Influenza virus vaccines for Richmond region
<p>After the influenza virus was finally identified in 1933, researchers immediately started to develop a vaccine. The first flu vaccine was approved for U.S. military use in 1945 and for civilian use in 1946. <br /><br />Unfortunately, the flu has several types, and many types come in multiple strains—each of which has to be included in a vaccine to provide protection. Each year, scientists make their best prediction as to which flu variants will circulate that year and prepare a vaccine that treats a combination of the most likely strains. Sometimes the match is a good one, but sometimes unexpected strains mean the vaccine is less effective. Immunity also wears off and different strains emerge—which is why it’s important to get a flu shot every year.</p>
Clark, Wallace Huey (photographer).
<p>V.85.37.2477, <a href="https://thevalentine.org/exhibition/pandemic-richmond-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection</a>, The Valentine</p>
1976 September 30
The Valentine
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Stop Polio Sunday [handbill]
<p>Promotional materials for "Stop Polio Sunday. Second Dose Jan. 19." A hand drops the vaccine onto a sugar cube.<br /><br />Text: "<span style="text-decoration:underline;">everyone</span> needs Sabin Vaccine. <br />For complete protection against polio, EVERYONE over two months old needs ALL THREE TYPES of Sabin oral vaccine. Sabin school clincis will be open JANUARY 19 from NOON TO 6 P.M. to offer you your second dose of Sabin oral vaccine. <br /><br />BE SURE AND ATTEND YOUR LOCAL SABIN CLINIC AND TAKE THE SECOND DOSE OF SABIN VACCINE. HELP TO BANISH POLIO FROM THE RICHMOND AREA FOREVER. <br />Check the other side for clinic nearest you."<br /><br />------<br /><br />The (near) elimination of polio is one of medicine’s great success stories. Jonas Salk (1914–1995) developed the first effective polio vaccine in 1953. Albert Sabin (1906–1993) developed an oral version of the vaccine in 1956. <br /><br />Polio cases dropped dramatically wherever the vaccines were used, and polio was eliminated in the U.S. by 1979. Through the efforts of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, formed in 1988, worldwide polio cases were down to 37 by 2016. <br /><br />Poliomyelitis vaccines were not without problems, though, especially initially. The Sabin version was more effective and easier to administer, but in very rare cases (1 in 2.9 million), it could produce a form of polio. It was abandoned in the U.S. by 2000. <br /><br />The Sabin vaccine required three doses, given six to eight weeks apart. In Richmond, Sunday vaccine drives were organized in the 1960s, leading to widespread city vaccination rates. <br /><br /></p>
FIC.037526, <a href="https://thevalentine.org/exhibition/pandemic-richmond-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Valentine</a>
c. 1964
The Valentine.
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Learn more:<br />Paul, Catherine A. (2017). <a href="https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/sickness/polio/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Polio.</a> Social Welfare History Project.<a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline?timeline_categories%5B%5D=52" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><br />The History of Vaccines</a>. An educational resource by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.