Why did Jonas Salk invent Vaccine for Polio?

Answer 1

Salk was hailed as a "miracle worker", and the day "almost became a national holiday." His sole focus had been to develop a safe and effective vaccine as rapidly as possible, with no interest in personal profit. When he was asked in a televised interview who owned the patent to the vaccine, Salk replied: "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"

Answer 2

It was a frequently fatal disease, and people who didn't die were often left paralysed or with the extremely debilitating Post Polio Syndrome. Once a person had had polio, there was very little chance of them returning to their pre illness level of health. It affected a person's ability to work and could push a family into poverty very quickly, and this had knock on effects for the whole of society.

When the Salk vaccine was discovered, it was hailed as very, very good news as it was cheap and easy to produce and it worked.