Back then – in the early 1930’s – there was no vaccine for this highly infectious disease. With good reason, parents everywhere were terrified that poliovirus would reach their doorstep – like a plague – striking a child and causing irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours, or, worse, death in a matter of days.
疫苗对我总是有着特殊的意义。小时候在南非，我几乎因小儿麻痹症而丧命。当时——20世纪30年代初——根本没有疫苗可以对付这一高传染性疾病。不难理解，各家各户的父母都十分害怕小儿麻痹症病毒会像瘟疫一样前来敲门，几小时内让孩子终生残疾，或者（更糟糕地）几天之内夺走孩子的生命。