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On Feb. 23, 1954, children at Arsenal Elementary School in 51��Ʒ��Ƶsburgh received the first shots of a vaccine against a deadly virus. It would take 25 years and a nationwide effort for polio to be eradicated in the U.S., but a team lead by the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ’s Jonas Salk took the bold first steps.

As the world deals with the ongoing effects of another deadly virus, 51��Ʒ��Ƶ remains a leader in vaccine research. You’ll see some familiar themes in the four stories below, not to mention a through line between 51��Ʒ��Ƶ’s groundbreaking research 68 years ago and the work happening today.

First-person accounts from polio pioneers

In a 2005 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Med magazine story, Senior Editor Elaine Vitone (PDF) when the polio vaccine first became available. The piece weaves together first-person accounts from a nurse and several schoolchildren who recount anxiety as the “polio pioneers” received their doses — and their celebration when the vaccine was successful. You can also inspired by the story.

A reporter’s story of vaccine success

John Troan was a young reporter for the now-shuttered 51��Ʒ��Ƶsburgh Press when he caught wind that Salk’s team was about to test the polio vaccine in humans. A 2002 51��Ʒ��Ƶ Med magazine article follows from Jonas Salk inoculating himself and his family to covering the success of a trial involving almost 2 million children.