Arlen Specter: “I now turn to another subject; that is, a resolution to designate the year 2004 as the Year of Polio Awareness. During…”

“I now turn to another subject; that is, a resolution to designate the year 2004 as the Year of Polio Awareness. During the 1940s and the early 1950s, between 30,000 and 50,000 cases of polio were recorded annually in the United States, causing widespread fear and panic. I recall as a youngster a public swimming pool in Wichita, KS, in which there was a total scare, wondering if going to the swimming pool would cause polio. The polio virus damages nerves that control muscles which results in muscle weakness. In severe illness, the person could lose the ability to move both arms and legs, may be unable to breathe without help and they may die. Of course, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the personal symbol for the incapacitation of someone with polio, although it was only physical. He was a magnificent President and a great leader of the United States during the Depression and World War II. A great physical toll was taken on President Roosevelt. The year 2004 will mark the 50th anniversary of the successful nationwide trial to administer the injectable polio vaccine to children. The invention of injectable polio vaccines eliminated naturally occurring polio cases in the United States. However, as few as 57 percent of American children currently receive the full dose of vaccines, including the polio vaccination. The need for continued diligence to protect this country's youth from polio is critical.”