Interview with Dr. Giverts Fradah: Good afternoon Dr. Giverts.

I would like to ask you a few questions regarding vaccination. Do you remember what was happening in your town before the vaccination commenced? Dr. Giverts: Yes, at this time, in the mid-1950s, my wife and I were practicing medicine in Russia. As a surgeon, I performed many procedures by the name of cricotomy (incision of the cricoid cartilage of the neck) for children who suffered from diphtheria, a fatal infectious disease which led to the formation of membranes in the throat and eventual respiratory obstruction. My wife, as a neurologist, was treating patients who suffered from paralysis after poliomyelitis, an infectious disease which causes the destruction of the spinal cord neurons. Basically, all of these medical problems were a direct result of a lack of vaccines. Fradah: At that time, were there any new discoveries in the field of immunology? Dr. Giverts: As a matter of fact, I remember Dr. Salk, an American physician and virologist, developed a vaccine against polio. If you recall, President Franklin Roosevelt suffered from polio because there was a pandemic in the United States. When Dr. Salk introduced his vaccine to the people, many were hesitant to use it. Therefore, a popular singer of the time, Elvis Presley, agreed to be vaccinated against polio. After his procedure, the percentage of people vaccinated in the United States raised from about four percent to more than eighty-five percent. This led to the initiation of eradication of polio in the western hemisphere. Fradah: What was your personal experience with vaccination? Dr. Giverts: Well, in the early 1960s, the polio vaccine became available in Russia. Just as in America, many people in my town were afraid to get a vaccination. My wife and I decided to gather the children of all the doctors we knew in our house. Next, we performed vaccinations on all of these kids, including our son. As predicted, the vaccine had no side-effects and all of the children remained healthy, and were also protected from polio! Due to our reputation in the town, many people realized that the vaccine was harmless and allowed their children to be vaccinated. Slowly and surely, many children were immunized against polio. Fradah: Do you think Edward Jenners work influenced future vaccine development, such as the polio vaccine you mentioned? Dr. Giverts: Of course! Dr. Jenners work was fundamental in the advancements of immunology over the past century. I think that people worldwide should honor him because he saved humanity. If it wasnt for his work, humanity might have been wiped out by smallpox, not to mention all of the other infectious diseases that are reaching partial to complete eradiation. Fradah: Thank you very much for this insightful information, Dr. Giverts. Now, we can further understand the importance of the field of immunology and appreciate the work Dr. Jenner completed. Dr. Giverts: It was my pleasure to discuss such a pivotal point in medical history. Stay healthy and be immunized!