The Population Healthy podcast is produced by the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health (SPH). The latest edition was recorded on April 11, 2025, and commemorated the anniversary of the April 12, 1955 announcement that the Salk polio vaccine was “safe, effective, and potent.” Podcasters Matt Boulton, Senior Associate Dean for Global Public Health in SPH, and Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan, recorded the episode in the Thomas Francis building. Dr. Francis was the one who made the announcement in 1955 (Here’s a link to the original press release: https://sph.umich.edu/polio/). Dean Boulton noted that the desk in his office is the one Dr. Francis used during his time at the University.

The discussion recounted the activities and events leading up to one of the largest and most publicized clinical trials ever undertaken. The results of the trials on 1.8 million children and the success in eradicating polio in the US by 1979, affirm the need for focused research, well-planned testing, demonstrable success, and effective public support in combating preventable and curable diseases in the future.

Six Rotarians attended the recording: RCAA members Mousumi Banarjee, Dennis Burke, Rosemarie Rowney, Norma Sarkar, John White, and Anne Nauts of Chelsea. Mousumi is a Professor in SPH and deserves the credit for the topic and content of this podcast.

For some background on the announcement of the vaccine, watch this 90-second news reel segment on YouTube.

Update: Here’s the link to the 35-minute podcast: https://sph.umich.edu/podcast/season7/commemorating-a-milestone-the-70th-anniversary-of-the-polio-vaccine-announcement.html

Here’s a link to the SPH post on Facebook: https://myumi.ch/Z237E

“The Shot Felt ‘Round the World” is a documentary on the development of the Salk vaccine. It is available on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/show/shot-felt-round-world-how-polio-vaccine-saved-world/