The polio vaccine can be traced back to June 17, 1894. (History of Vaccines) The famous virus became famous when President Roosevelt contracted it. The virus has given you iron lungs and made it very difficult for you to breathe. With the ongoing effort to eradicate the virus there has been much trial and error in overcoming the epidemic. The polio epidemic was a virus that spread throughout the world, a household name that scared people every day. At the height of the polio epidemic, over 35,000 cases were reported in the United States alone. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) There was a race to discover a cure and when the vaccine was found in 1955 it saved thousands of lives and an untold number of people at risk in the future. The Americas were completely eradicated of the disease in 1994. (History of Vaccines) Other vaccines that have helped people, such as the measles, yellow fever, and diphtheria vaccine, have also shaped the future of the disease.