Below is a Pubic Pulse letter by President John Sullivan published by the Omaha World-Herald.
I would like to commend the World Herald for its recent in-depth article regarding Polio in Nebraska.
Today, there are 19 million people walking on earth who would otherwise have been paralyzed by the wild poliovirus, if not for international eradication efforts begun in 1979 by Rotarians, starting in the Philippines. An estimated 650,000 cases are now prevented each year. The world has gone four years without a case of wild poliovirus outside of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There have been no cases in India for 10 years.
In Omaha, Downtown Rotary has raised $88,151 to fight the fight over decades. Rotarians in District 5650 (eastern NE and southwest IA) have raised or contributed nearly $1.2M. And Rotary International, founded and headquartered in Chicago, has raised 2.3 billion dollars for the “Polio Plus Campaign” since 1985. A more recent partner and very significant contributor to the fight have been The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Rotary PolioPlus Funds most recently allocated for worldwide outbreak response, vaccines, research, operational support, and surveillance include $50M in October 2020; $50M in February 2021; and $50M in June 2021 (anticipated). Rotarians never give up on the world’s children. And there are 1,800 of us in District 5650 alone, many who have traveled to India, Africa, and other faraway places to personally administer vaccines.
Rotarians have also responded to the Ebola endemics and COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, trial data for the Salk Polio vaccine demonstrated 80-90% efficacy. Early Pfizer data indicated its COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective.
There is more information at endpolio.org and polioeradication.org.
-John G. Sullivan, President, The Rotary Club of Omaha (Downtown)
