Here’s a CNN story on the 50th anniversary of Polio vaccine. I’m not sure that I was ever given the Salk vaccine. I do remember clearly standing in a long line for a chance to swallow a sugar cube with the Sabin vaccine.

But it was worth it. My family, including older siblings, remembered polio scares, and saw the damage done by the disease. That fear, and some sense of importance, got communicated to me (though like any kid I got really bored in that long line on a sunny day).

Times change. In the US, people are now encouraged to use the Salk vaccine, because it is slightly less dangerous. As this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article suggests, in countries where Polio is still common, the Sabin vaccine is the logical choice.

There is a lot of skepticism about medical research these days, and sometimes it’s justified. Profit and pride too often rule. So it is good to have anniversaries like this to remind us of what the best medical research does, when it is truly in the service of public health.

And they remind historians of how much recent history hinges on extraordinary revolutions in biology and health care.