Jonas Salk

Many people believe a hero is someone who does a certain task for fame or money, but a true hero is an individual who stands out with what they do and are humble in the moment. Not caring about what the future may hold for them because of the task they have done. Salk was more than just an individual looking for a cure, he was someone looking to help millions of people without a reward in mind. Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York and died on June 23, 1995(Brigham). Salk was awarded his M.D. on June 7, 1939 and proceeded to begin the development of the polio vaccine. In 1951 Salk was able to assert with certainty that all poliovirus went into three types. He then began a study and test of the polio vaccine that he finalized on April 12, 1955. On April, 1954 Salk initiated the polio vaccine trial where over four hundred thousand children would be vaccinated. The poliovirus vaccine was proven to be effective on April 12, 1955. A true hero is someone who stands out of the crowd, and does actions/tasks selflessly for people in need. Heros want to help people in need of support without a reward in mind. Jonas Salk is a major hero in the modern world today not only because of the vaccine that he created which saved millions of lives, but because of his courageous attitude showing that anything is possible, the determination he had to help everyone in need without anything in return, and the humbleness he had about his fame from doing what he loved most, helping people.

Salk was determined to save the millions of people around him who had contracted the polio virus even if it had a few drawbacks along the way of curing it. Salk wasn't afraid to take chances while creating the polio virus even if that meant having to risk lives throughout the process because he believed that anything is possible as long as you work hard and have a positive mindset. "Roughly 2 million children were given the vaccine during the test phase"(Biography.com). Salk was determined to help save the people who were infected by the polio virus. He conducted a trial with over 2 million children who were all given the vaccination that Salk had created. In 1955 the vaccination had become official and Salk had successfully created the first polio vaccination that protects anyone who was given it from polio. Salk's determination allowed him to create a safe and effective polio vaccination in 1955, saving millions of lives across the world. Even though Salk ran into many problems that resulted in the death of hundreds of children, he showed that the vaccination wouldn't be perfect without a few bumps down the road. "The biggest problem with the Salk vaccine was that improper production of the vaccine by some drug companies resulted in the vaccine being contaminated with live poliovirus. Many hundreds of children died or became extremely ill because of this"(Salinger). Even though many drugstore companies messed up the vaccine with a live polio virus, Salk believed that bad things are going to happen when developing something new but you have to just keep moving forward. Nothing is impossible, but quitting is and Salk didn't want to give up just because of a mistake. When creating the early stages of the polio vaccine Salk found that hundreds of people had contracted the polio virus from the vaccination in it's early stages. This didn't stop Salk from continuing the polio vaccine research and getting it to an official stage because Salk's goal was to help people. Salk was determined throughout his life to provide the safest environment he could to the people around him by being determined to create a vaccination that would save millions of lives even if it had severe drawbacks.

When Salk was creating the polio vaccination he didn't have any intent on receiving the fame or money that would result from the vaccination he created, so he remained humble and created the vaccination for the reason of helping people in need. Salk showed through his actions that receiving benefits was not the reason he created the vaccination, but for the reason of helping people who needed it most. "There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"(Palmer). Salk had one intention when creating the polio vaccine,  he wanted to help save millions of people suffering from the polio virus. Jonas Salk decided that he didn't want to patent the polio vaccination because he didn't want to benefit from the vaccination (Palmer). Salk identified that the vaccination was for the people and not for himself. This is the main reason Salk created the vaccination as he didn't create it for his self benefit. Salk didn't want to take the credit for the fame he instantly received when he made the vaccination official. "I suddenly found myself being treated like a public figure, or a hero. I was no longer able to use my time altogether at my own discretion, but I made every effort to do so"(Academy of Achievement). Salk had become a celebrity and a hero for the work he did. Salk never thought of himself as a hero or a celebrity, but someone who helped people who are in need. Salk became an instant celebrity and received multiple gifts and prizes for the work he did. Salk donated all the money and prizes too people who were in need and helped him, because he believed they deserved the fame just as much as he did. Salk remained humble throughout his career while creating the polio vaccination because of his intent to help people and not receive the benefits that would come from creating a vaccination that would help millions of people.

Throughout Jonas Salk's career he has helped save millions of lives while being an inspiration to thousands of people across the world. Salk showed that anything is possible as long as you work towards it, demonstrating his determination he had to create a vaccination that would benefit people worldwide. Salk remained humble throughout his career not only because of the attention he received but because his main mindset was to create a vaccination that would help people and not give him benefits. Salk had one intention when creating the polio vaccine and that was to not patent the vaccination or take any benefits that it may give. Salk's decision to do this showed his true intention on why he created the vaccination. Jonas Salk was an inspiration to many people around the world because of the work he did for the people who needed it. He didn't make the vaccine for the fame or the money, but for the people who were suffering around the world. He choose to stay humble while making one of the world's biggest vaccines while choosing to not patent his vaccine. Still to this day Jonas Salk has been one of the worlds greatest heroes delivering the polio vaccine to people all around the world, saving millions of lives for centuries to come by doing what he loved most, helping people. There are many heroes in the world that receive the title of a "hero" because of their fame and wealth. Salk decided to decline the fame and benefits that the public offered him because of his humble approach to doing what he loved most, helping people who needed it.

Works Cited

"Jonas Salk Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement. 16 May. Web. 3 June 2014.

"Jonas Salk Biography." Bio.com. Ed. Biography.com Editors. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2016.

Palmer, Brian. "Why Jonas Salk Didn't Patent His Polio Vaccine." Slate. Brian Palmer, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016.  

Salinger, J.D. "World Biography." Jonas Salk Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2013.