The Shot Heard Around the World

[The Patriot]

The Shot Heard Around the World

10-09-2018 10:00 PM

"The Shot Heard 'Round the World", those familiar with Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1837 poem Concord Hymn instantly associates the phrase with the American Revolution; however, I suggest they could also associate the phrase with Jonas Salk's 1938 development of the Flu vaccine, or "shot". Why is the flu shot so important that it could be mentioned in the same breath as the American Revolution? Well, twenty years prior to Salk's vaccine, the entire world was engulfed in the Flu Pandemic of 1918.The Flu Pandemic of 1918 wiped out nearly 40 million people worldwide including almost 1 million Americans. This represented approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population at the time; in today's terms, that would equal more than 30 million deaths in the U.S. alone. In addition to those that died, millions more suffered from the illness as it is estimated that 28% of the U.S. population contracted the Flu. By contrast, there were 16 million deaths worldwide (116 thousand U.S.) from World War 1. So it is no wonder that twenty years later, Salk was hailed as a hero when he introduced the first Flu vaccine.

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