Shall we talk about that other variant?

[katilac]

On 5/18/2022 at 7:54 PM, Elona said:

I think the reason that some people thought the vaccine would put an end to this pandemic is because vaccines have largely ended many diseases in recent memory- Polio, for example.  

A vaccine did not end a pandemic or eradicate polio in a year's time. We all tend to vaguely think, ah yes, polio, Jonas Salk, 1955, polio gone - but it was not at all a quick or smooth process.

Taking an American-centric view to simplify things, polio was identified around 1910, leading to tremendous time, money, and effort being put into the effort to find a vaccine. There were two failed trials of vaccines in the mid-1930s, one of which was ineffective, and the other of which killed nine children and gave polio to others. March of Dimes started in 1938, promoting awareness and fundraising for research. 

A major breakthrough in understanding polio came in 1949 at Boston Hospital. Salk used their cultures to start his efforts in 1950. There was a big trial in 1954, so about four years later. The trial was was hugely successful, but, when mass vaccinations began in 1955, a manufacturing defect at one of the plants led to live virus being in the vaccine. Over 40,000 kids got polio, about 200 had different degrees of paralysis, and ten of them died. (this incident is what led to the higher degree of federal oversight and regulation we have today) 

Once they identified the issue, vaccines started back up within weeks. People realized it was a terrible tragedy, and that there was always a risk, but that the risk from the vaccine was less than the risk from polio.

The vaccine was (and is) hailed as a tremendous success , but there were still about 15,500 cases in 1956 (which is a number that had been reached in some pre-vaccine years) and 5,600 in 1957.  There were localized epidemics in the states and in the UK post-vaccine. 

So, even allowing for the advances in medicine and technology since then, people are expecting way too much from the covid vaccines. It's a process. It takes time. There are many factors. It's not an instantaneous miracle. 

Edited May 21, 2022 by katilac
added missing 1956

[Tanaqui]

Quote

Once they identified the issue, vaccines started back up within weeks. People realized it was a terrible tragedy, and that there was always a risk, but that the risk from the vaccine was less than the risk from polio.

Don't forget - even back then, there were anti-vaccine movements.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/11/polio-vaccine-antivaxxer-history-duon-miller.html

And it's the same for the smallpox vaccine as well - there have always been people who find it scary.