The first polio vaccine was first used on a large scale in 1954 , when Jonas Salk’s inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) was administered to about 1.6 million schoolchildren in North America and Europe in massive field trials.

Quick Scoop: Key Dates

  • Early 1950s: Salk develops the inactivated (killed-virus) polio vaccine in Pittsburgh.
  • 1952: Salk begins testing prototypes in polio patients and then in 43 children who had never had polio.
  • 1953: He reports successful early trials in the Journal of the American Medical Association and publicly announces results.
  • 1954: Massive field trial in about 1.6 million children in the US, Canada, and Finland, marking the first large‑scale use of the vaccine.
  • April 12, 1955: Trial results announced; the Salk vaccine is licensed and routine vaccination programs begin, rapidly reducing polio cases.

In short, small experimental use began in the early 1950s, but the polio vaccine was first widely used in 1954, with full public rollout following its approval in 1955.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.