Rotary International Zones 33/34, in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, will join together in Pittsburgh this Thursday, October 24, 2024 to commemorate World Polio Day 2024. This celebration honors the pivotal contributions of the Pittsburgh community to the development of the polio vaccine and highlights Rotary’s ongoing global efforts to eradicate the disease.
This year’s World Polio Day event will pay special tribute to the participants of Dr. Jonas Salk’s 1952-1954 vaccine trials, many of whom were elementary school children in Pittsburgh. Pitt and Rotary International aim to honor these pioneering volunteers for their critical role in public health history.
“We are proud to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Jonas Salk and the volunteers who helped make his world-changing discovery possible,” said Maureen Lichtveld, M.D., M.P.H., dean and Jonas Salk Professor of Population Health at Pitt Public Health. “Thanks to them, the iron lung in our building—one of the historical artifacts in our Jonas Salk Legacy exhibit—became just that, an artifact.” She added that the exhibit, which also features laboratory equipment, documents and photographs, is open in the Pitt Public Health ground floor lobby weekdays between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
“In the early 1950s, thousands of elementary schoolchildren from the Pittsburgh area rolled up their sleeves to help rid the world of a devastating disease,” said Donald S. Burke, M.D., dean emeritus and Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at Pitt Public Health. “These phase II trial participants—‘pre-pioneers’ here in the Pittsburgh region—paved the way for the national trial, and the shot heard ’round the world.”
The pre-pioneer recognition event is part of a larger schedule of activities running from October 23-27 during the Rotary Zones 33/34 Annual Summit in Pittsburgh. This includes a Polio Walk to raise awareness and funds for the eradication campaign and a global livestream event highlighting the past, present, and future fight against polio. Dr. Peter Salk, son of the late Dr. Jonas Salk, will address the Summit’s 480+ attendees on Thursday as well.
World Polio Day has become a rallying point for Rotary International’s ongoing fight to eliminate the disease worldwide. Although polio cases have been reduced by 99.9%, the final push to completely eradicate polio remains endemic in two final countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Pittsburgh is not just the birthplace of the polio vaccine—it’s the birthplace of hope in the global fight against this devastating disease. It was here that Dr. Salk’s groundbreaking trials began, and today, it’s where we reaffirm our commitment to finish what was started. As we gather in partnership with Pitt Rotary remains resolute: we will not rest until polio is eradicated worldwide,” states Patrick Eakes, Rotary International Director of Zones 33/34.
Rotary International has been at the forefront of this battle since 1985, when it launched its PolioPlus program. With support from global partners such as the World Health Organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and UNICEF, Rotary has helped immunize over 2.5 billion children across 122 countries.
For more information and a detailed schedule of events, please visit the official Rotary Summit website at rotary3334zonesummit.org/wpd. For more information on the work of Pitt, please visit PittPublicHealth.pitt.edu.
-Elaine Vitone and Ashley Waters