Health
In 1950, polio was a debilitating disease that left young people dead or permanently paralyzed. Mrs. Hobby dedicated herself to getting the vaccine made and distributed to people. Jones Salk created the polio vaccine with his theory of killing the virus and injecting the dead cell with other substances to fight the “bad” cells. Salk tested the vaccine and proved it worked. Hobby and others agreed to get 5 drug manufacturers to mass produce the vaccine. Additionally, she devoted herself to creating the U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Center for the benefit of the public. She received presidential approval of Child Health Day, where parents are encouraged to take responsibility in child health by learning appropriate development. Mrs. Hobby's leadership in healthcare ensured a legacy of better lives for all.
polio
1957, courtesy of the Woodson Research Center
"It is now a matter of time ...until polio will become a rare and ultimately an extinct disease."
-Mr. Basil O'Connor President of National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis two years after
the Salk Polio Vaccine was released, 1957, courtesy of the Woodson Research Center.
-Mr. Basil O'Connor President of National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis two years after
the Salk Polio Vaccine was released, 1957, courtesy of the Woodson Research Center.
Polio vaccine letters, Woodson Research Center, 1956.
“Those were trying times - eased only by the present successful progress of the immunization program your vaccine made possible. Parents everywhere bless you in their prayers.”
-Mrs. Hobby congratulates Jonas Salk, February 29, 1956, courtesy of the Woodson Research Center.
-Mrs. Hobby congratulates Jonas Salk, February 29, 1956, courtesy of the Woodson Research Center.
"The ultimate purpose all of us have, of course, is to confer the greatest good on the greatest number of people to whom polio presents the greatest threat."
-Remarks by Oveta Culp Hobby, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, at Conference on Salk Vaccine,
April 22, 1955.
"The discovery of the Salk vaccine is a story of millions of Americans giving freely of their dimes and dollars in a great cause. It is a story of dedicated and painstaking effort by many thousands of scientists, of an historical and brilliant achievement by one of them, Dr. Jonas Salk."
-Remarks by Oveta Culp Hobby, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, at Conference on Salk Vaccine,
April 22, 1955.
-Remarks by Oveta Culp Hobby, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, at Conference on Salk Vaccine,
April 22, 1955.
"The discovery of the Salk vaccine is a story of millions of Americans giving freely of their dimes and dollars in a great cause. It is a story of dedicated and painstaking effort by many thousands of scientists, of an historical and brilliant achievement by one of them, Dr. Jonas Salk."
-Remarks by Oveta Culp Hobby, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, at Conference on Salk Vaccine,
April 22, 1955.
building hospitals
"Who dedicated the new clinical center for medical research?-A woman, Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, the new Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, took time out of exacting Cabinet duties in near by Washington D. C., to drive over to make the dedicatory address."
-Our County's New Fortress Against Disease Newspaper Article,
courtesy of Woodson Research Center.
-Our County's New Fortress Against Disease Newspaper Article,
courtesy of Woodson Research Center.
"In its 1,100 laboratories, what Mrs. Hobby has described as 'the greatest array of scientists and specialists ever assembled in the history of mankind' is engaged in seeking out the causes of, and cures for, cancer, diseases of the heart, arthritis, blindness, neurological disturbances, mental illness, dental troubles and microbiological and metabolic diseases...A goodly proportion are women who stand up high in their respective fields."
-Our Country's New Fortress Against Disease Newspaper Article, courtesy of Woodson Research center.
-Our Country's New Fortress Against Disease Newspaper Article, courtesy of Woodson Research center.