‘Could you patent the sun?' How a people's vaccine for polio was born

The world’s major pharma companies as well as most high-income countries are against waiving patent protections for coronavirus vaccines, arguing that it could undermine medical innovation. It is in sharp contrast to how the vaccine for polio was developed and distributed.

- ARAVINDAKSHAN S

The start of the 20th century saw the emergence of major polio epidemics. Dr Jonas Salk, a virologist, developed a promising vaccine candidate in 1953 and launched a large trial among 1.83 million kids in the US. The trial was conducted by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which was founded by the polio-diagnosed US President Franklin D Roosevelt and funded mostly by millions of small-sum donations from the American public.