[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6043-6044]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE POLIO VACCINE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today marks the 50th anniversary of the 
introduction of the polio vaccine. On April 12, 1955, Americans across 
the country cheered the news that Dr. Jonas Salk and his team of 
researchers had developed a vaccine that was ``safe, effective, and 
potent.'' One of mankind's most ancient enemies going as far back as 
ancient Egypt would finally be vanquished. It was truly a watershed in 
American history, launching an era of unprecedented vaccine 
development.
  Today, vaccines protect children from more than 12 vaccine-
preventable diseases, reducing disease rates by as much as 99 percent 
in the United States.
  It is hard for today's generation to imagine the fear and the panic 
that gripped the Nation every summer in the first decades of the 20th 
century. Everyone was at risk--young and old, rich and poor. At the 
first signs of illness, swimming pools were closed and drained, movie 
theaters were padlocked shut, mothers cloistered their children for the 
duration, as everyone waited for that anxious cloud to pass.
  Some polio victims died. Others were debilitated for life. The 1916 
polio epidemic alone killed 6,000 Americans and paralyzed another 
27,000.
  Polio's most famous victim was, of course, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 
who contracted the virus at the age of 39 while on vacation. As America 
would later learn, the disease permanently paralyzed the future 
President.
  Even now, half of the 1 million polio survivors today suffer residual 
bouts of illness. Deborah Cunningham of Nashville, TN, recalls her 
childhood struggle with the vicious disease. It was 1951. She was only 
6 years old. She had just begun the first grade when one morning she 
woke up with a severe headache. As she tried to walk across her bedroom 
to get dressed for school, she collapsed on the floor.
  Her parents rushed her to the local hospital where doctors examined 
her. They asked her to try to lift her legs. As she told a newspaper, 
the Commercial Appeal: ``I didn't know why they gave me such funny 
looks.''
  She thought she had done as they said but, in fact, neither of her 
legs moved an inch. Deborah spent the next month in isolation, unable 
to speak or to eat solid foods. She was then moved to a ward for 
children with polio for 8 months where she spent the first 3 months 
encased in an iron lung.
  In 1946, there were 25,000 cases of polio across the country. By 
1952, the annual tally had more than doubled to 58,000 new cases. Until 
Jonas Salk's historic breakthrough, polio was one of the most dread 
diseases in the world. Indeed, the development of the polio vaccine has 
been compared to the Moon landing.
  Today, polio has been nearly eradicated from the globe. Worldwide, 
only six countries are still significantly afflicted. In 1988, there 
were 350,000 cases worldwide. In 2003, that number was down to only 784 
new cases. The World Health Organization is confident they will 
eradicate polio from the face of the globe by the end of the year.
  One gentleman who has been instrumental in the drive to eliminate 
polio is Tennessee's own William Sergeant, chairman of the 
International PolioPlus Committee. The 86-year-old has dedicated over 
40 years fighting the spread of the disease. In 1998, he was the first 
recipient of the Hannah Neil World of Children Award.
  Today, the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will 
celebrate the vaccine's 50th anniversary. Dr. Salk's youngest son and 
FDR's granddaughter will be in attendance.
  Together they will help launch the Smithsonian's monthlong exhibition 
on the rise and fall of polio and the heroic efforts of Dr. Salk, and 
people such as Mr. Sergeant who worked tirelessly to defeat the 
disease.
  As we celebrate polio's final retreat from human history, we must be 
ever vigilant and aware of the new threats that are taking place today. 
HIV/AIDS, SARS, West Nile virus, avian flu, and most recently the 
Marburg virus are among the emerging dangers in the 21st century. 
Currently, Angola is suffering the most severe Marburg outbreak in 
recorded history. As of yesterday, the virus has killed 193 victims in 
1 month.
  Marburg, which is a variant, a cousin, of the Ebola virus, is spread 
by bodily fluids, by things as small as little beads of sweat. Nine out 
of 10 people who contract the disease die typically within a week. The 
virus has an incubation of 5 to 10 days. The victim then suffers a 
sudden onset of fever, chills, and muscle aches. These symptoms quickly 
escalate to nausea, vomiting, chest tightness, and abdominal pain, 
ultimately leading to organ failure and death. There is no cure and 
there is no effective vaccine.
  Scientists do not know the source of the virus or how it is initially 
transmitted into the human population. It is one plane ride away from 
the United States of America. There is no cure and there is no vaccine. 
At this very moment, international health workers in Angola are working 
feverishly to contain its spread. The epidemic is expected to last up 
to 3 months.
  Meanwhile, there is avian flu. We continue to receive disturbing 
reports on the avian flu outbreaks in Asia. Already 50 people have 
died. Experts warn that the virus may mutate into a more lethal and 
more transmissible form, potentially unleashing a worldwide flu 
epidemic. If we do not address this threat now, tens of millions of 
people could die as a result, and we are dangerously behind.
  The flu vaccine shortage last winter underscores the fragility of our 
vaccine supply in this country and indeed around the world. It 
underscores our need to bolster Federal and State preparedness whether 
in the event of a bioterror attack or emerging infectious disease. We 
have had this discussion before. We need to take action.
  There are now only five major vaccine manufacturers worldwide that 
have production facilities in the United States. That is for all 
vaccines. Only two are U.S. companies. Over the past 2 decades, the 
number of manufacturers that made vaccines for children has dwindled 
from 12 now down to 4. Only two of the four manufacturers that make 
lifesaving vaccines for children are in the United States of America.
  Early this year, Republican leadership unveiled the Protecting 
America in the War on Terror Act of 2005. This legislation contains 
critical new provisions to strengthen our public health infrastructure, 
stabilize the vaccine industry, and encourage advanced research and 
development. It encourages

[[Page 6044]]

the development of countermeasures against a biological, radiological, 
or nuclear attack as well as emerging infectious diseases. It does not 
address routine childhood immunizations.
  This legislation incorporates recommendations from top health 
officials, industry experts, and infectious disease specialists. I urge 
my colleagues to support these long overdue measures to keep America 
safe.
  I am gratified by my colleagues' efforts in the House to press this 
public safety issue. Indeed, in a few minutes the House Subcommittee on 
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies is 
holding a hearing on pandemic preparedness and influenza vaccine 
supply. Officials from the CDC, NAID, and the Office of the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services will offer testimony this morning on the 
status of our public health security.
  We cannot afford to be complacent. Experts tell us that the emergence 
of the worldwide flu pandemic is not a mere possibility but an all too 
frightening probability. Millions of lives could be lost if we fail to 
act. We must continue to search for preventions and cures to the new 
diseases on the horizon.
  Most recently, thanks to the success of U.S. immunization efforts, 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that rubella 
is no longer a major health threat in the United States. However, Dr. 
Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC, stresses:

       We have to remain vigilant because, as we say in public 
     health, our network is only as strong as the weakest link . . 
     . [We] have to sustain our commitment to immunization. We 
     have to strengthen all of the links in the network, and we 
     have to do everything possible to protect the health of 
     children here within our country, as well as beyond.

  We have come a long way since the famed Ernest William Goodpasture 
helped pioneer the development of vaccines. His work at Vanderbilt 
University helped create the vaccines that protect us from chickenpox, 
smallpox, yellow fever, typhus, Rocky Mountain fever, and many other 
viral diseases. I am confident that we possess the ingenuity. America 
has been the engine of countless lifesaving discoveries and global 
health efforts. Now it is time for us to demonstrate our resolve once 
again for the safety of our fellow citizens and millions of people 
around the globe.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Delaware is 
recognized.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, we have been joined this morning by the 
Senator from Colorado, and I yield to him such time as he may consume.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Colorado is 
recognized.

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