In fact, cases of paralytic polio were small. But that number adds up. For example, in 1952, the US experienced its worst polio epidemic in history, with @ 60k reported cases. Of those cases, over 3,000 people died and around 21k people experienced varying degrees of paralysis.

April 11, 2026 - 11:40 UTC

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I think we've kind of memory holed this (not me...lol). But I think it's amazing that we, as a country, rallied around a national vaccine campaign to try and eradicate this terrible, shitty disease, even though the paralysis rate was not 100%. There are lessons to be learned!
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In an era of mass disinformation from our own government and an entire major political party dedicated to Orwellian opposite-world bulls*** and conspiracy theories...

...it is hard to imagine a world where most people can understand "rates," "probabilities," or "odds" in health outcomes.
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One thing I've said a lot in response to incredulity about my own post-COVID travails is "nobody ever called it 'long polio.'" Viruses take some people down hard while others catch a glancing blow.
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Obviously the most important being that we, as a community, can and should prevent the worst possible outcomes for each other, even if it that outcome probably won't happen to us. That's what a community is. And also: vaccines are cool.
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It’s that denominator that’s the problem with things like this.
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