AL SJR57

Commemorates the 70th anniversary of the nationwide polio eradication campaign that began in 1955 in the United States.

Recognizes polio as a highly infectious disease that primarily affected children under age five and caused paralysis and death, with no known cure.

Acknowledges the Tuskegee Infantile Paralysis Center at Tuskegee University as the only place in the South where African American children with polio could receive treatment during the early eradication efforts.

Highlights Dr. Ira Myers' role in helping initiate Alabama's mass Salk Polio Vaccine Program in 1955 and his prior work with the federal Public Health Service.

Honors the scientists, physicians, public health personnel, parents, and others, including Alabamians, who contributed to this achievement recognized as one of the greatest public health triumphs of the 20th century.