The 1954 Polio Field Trial - 07.14.15

In episode 65 our host David Crowe interviews someone who has recently extensively studied the polio field trial report…from 1957. Yes, from 1957. The flaws in the trial are still important today.

The man being interviewed is none other than David Crowe, who surprises the host by going so far back into medical history, questioning what is seen by the rest of the world as a slam dunk success for modern medicine. That the polio vaccine was safe and effective, that it eliminated the US 1950s era epidemic, and that it eventually led to polio being virtually eliminated around the world. Nice story, except that it is very far from the truth.