Salk Symposia

While most known for polio vaccine development, Jonas Salk's broader commitments to a sustainable human future were major topics of his later writings on the environment, the economy, global health, the meaning of health, and the human dimension of creating constructive change. The Jonas Salk Symposia, hosted by Pitt Public Health, honor him by bringing together speakers from diverse disciplines to discuss the continuing importance of one such theme each year. Recent, upcoming, and proposed symposia topics include:

Salk Legacy Stories

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Peter Salk says newest U.S. case of polio sounds a warning 

Peter Salk says newest U.S. case of polio sounds a warning

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE - After a man in Rockland County, New York, became the first patient to contract polio in the U.S. in nearly a decade, experts such as IDM’s Peter Salk — whose late father, Jonas, developed a vaccine for the disease — said the public shouldn’t be alarmed but warned that chil... (07/26/2022)
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During WWII, Getting the Flu Vaccine was Patriotic 

During WWII, Getting the Flu Vaccine was Patriotic

US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT – IDM’s Peter Salk struggles to make sense of COVID denialism. “It’s not mind-blowing — it’s mind-bending and heartbreaking to see this,” he says. “How many people are dying, and how many are suffering loss in their families, because of not being tuned in to the reality of ... (10/28/2021)
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Dean Lichtveld exemplifies the power of prevention 

Dean Lichtveld exemplifies the power of prevention

After receiving her COVID-19 vaccine at an interprofessional clinic on campus, Dean Maureen Lichtveld celebrated by posing with a life-sized picture of Jonas Salk – a symbol of the importance of vaccines and one of the core principles of public health: prevention. Lichtveld shares her experience in... (04/13/2021)
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ON THIS DAY: February 23, 1954, Dr. Jonas Salk begins first mass polio vaccination in Pittsburgh 

ON THIS DAY: February 23, 1954, Dr. Jonas Salk begins first mass polio vaccination in Pittsburgh

WPXI NEWS  — A group of children rolled up their sleeves for their place in history on Feb. 23, 1954, at a mass inoculation held at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh. The new polio vaccine they received was developed by Dr. Jonas Salk at the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsbu... (02/23/2021)
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Amanpour & Salk: Vaccine lessons from history (video) 

Amanpour & Salk: Vaccine lessons from history (video)

CNN — Christiane Amanpour discusses with IDM's Peter Salk the 97% drop in polio prevalence within a few years of initial vaccine adoption. In 1953, Dr. Peter Salk was one of the first to receive a polio vaccine—from none other than his father, Jonas Salk. They go on to discuss herd immunity and vac... (01/13/2021)
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Paralyzed 

Paralyzed

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE - In a 3500-word and photo retrospective, journalist Laura Malt Schneiderman looks back at the last massive vaccine rollout—for polio—which started in Pittsburgh. (01/12/2021)


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