Next time someone uses "but polio" argument for vaxxing; show them this. This particular vax near killed me at age 6, and gave me life long health issues. Polio was already declining in the U.S. and Europe during the 40's and 50's, as well as in England, where polio mortalities was at its height in 1950, but had declined 82 percent by 1956, before the Salk vaccinations began there. There was also no polio epidemic in the Third-World, where only 10 per cent of the population had been vaccinated. But the Public Health Service and the March Of Dimes campaign swelled the statistics by combining the larger numbers of non-paralytic, "unspecified" and "abortive" polio cases, with the dwindling numbers of paralytic cases. Almost two-thirds of this total comprised the milder, "non-paralytic" type. In the minds of millions of people—then and now—polio had meant paralysis. But by combining paralytic cases with the various milder, non-paralytic forms, the public was misled into thinking that paralysis was sweeping the land. Paralysis started to rise only after the Salk vaccine had begun in April 1955. It proved to be so hazardous that by November 1955, all European countries, with the exception of Denmark, had cancelled or discontinued their Salk vaccine programs. Canada postponed its Salk vaccine program July 29th of that year. In the U.S., Newark, N.J. stopped inoculations in June, 1955, while Idaho and Utah took similar action in July, followed shortly by Massachusetts [Morris Beale's American Capsule News, Oct. 15th, 1955]. By January 1, 1957, 17 states had rejected their supplies of Salk polio vaccine. During that year, the NY Times reported that very nearly half the paralytic cases, and three-quarters of the non-paralytic cases in children between the ages of 5 and 14 years occurred in vaccinated children. After two years of Salk vaccinations, paralytic polio increased nationally about 50% from 1957 to 1958, and about 80% from 1958 to 1959.