A Polio Epidemic Is Averted

Editor's note: From its first issue in 1900 through to the present day, AJN has unparalleled archives detailing nurses' work and lives over more than a century. These articles not only chronicle nursing's growth as a profession within the context of the events of the day, but also reveal prevailing societal attitudes about women, health care, and human rights. Today's nursing school curricula rarely include nursing's history, but it's a history worth knowing. To this end, From the AJN Archives highlights articles selected to fit today's topics and times. In August 1961, the incidence of polio was rising in and around Syracuse, New York, and oral polio vaccine had just been made available. In this article from AJN's May 1962 issue, Syracuse Department of Health director of nursing Alyce Rooney details the rapid planning that resulted in the administration of more than 400,000 polio vaccines over a period of just three days. In an incredible effort over less than two weeks, vaccine was obtained and repackaged, vaccination sites were secured, staff assignments were made, and the vaccines were given. After a high of 46 Syracuse-area polio cases in August, the number dropped to 18 in September and none in October. More than 50 years later, vaccine hesitancy has become a roadblock to today's vaccination campaigns. In this issue, research by Roberts and colleagues provides an understanding of vaccine hesitancy among nurses, which may inform the development of policies, campaigns, and interventions aimed at increasing nurse vaccination rates.-Betsy Todd, MPH, RN.