The Polio Cover-Up: How the Disease Was Rebranded, Not Eradicated

"In the 50s, epidemiological studies confirmed that injections increased the risk of paralysis..."

Feb 19, 2025

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I mention polio?

If you’re not a polio expert, chances are you immediately think of a terrifying disease that left thousands paralyzed and killed many.

The mainstream narrative tells us that polio was a devastating epidemic that swept across the 20th century, bringing death and disability.

And if you’ve followed the mainstream narrative, you’d say, “Dr. Salk’s vaccine eradicated polio.”

But what if I told you that was a well-constructed illusion?

If you’re familiar with my work at Unorthodoxy, you know that mainstream narratives are rarely the whole story. And if you’re new here, welcome!

Let’s take a deep dive into the unorthodox facts about polio, starting with the perception of the disease.

How Polio Is Perceived

Polio has been framed as a diabolical disease, bringing death and devastation.

A simple Google or Wikipedia search will reinforce this imagery, using history’s most harrowing cases as the anchor for the entire disease’s reputation.

This image placement is no accident.

But what if I told you that this perception is misleading?

Note: This image placement acts on the concept of heuristics—mental shortcuts that shape how we perceive information. As I discuss in my Critical Thinking series, these heuristics can be manipulated.

Here’s the reality:

75% of polio cases are asymptomatic. Most people who “get polio” show NO symptoms whatsoever.
The remaining 25% show mild symptoms: fever, sore throat, fatigue, nausea, headache.
Only a fraction of cases (less than 1%) lead to paralysis.

In other words, the vast majority of polio cases were either completely asymptomatic or indistinguishable from the flu, a cold, or heck, even COVID-19.

The difference, however, is that polio has a debilitating image of paralysis to it.

So how do we have this image of a deadly, crippling disease dominating the 1940s and 1950s?

The Rise of Paralysis

Before the 1940s, polio was an intermittently occurring, rare, and primarily mild illness. Then something changed.

From the 1940s to the 1950s, polio “epidemics” exploded, primarily affecting children under five. These cases in children were associated with paralysis, earning it the label infantile paralysis.

Not only was paralysis being seen in children, but also in adults as well, specifically those in the military.

So what changed?

The first DTP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) was introduced in the early 1940s. Though officially licensed in 1948, diphtheria and pertussis vaccines had been used in children before that.

Not only were they being used in children, but vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria were also being injected into adults as well, specifically those in the military.

Not only did we have an increase in infantile paralysis at this time, but we also saw an increase in paralysis rates from poliomyelitis1 in the military as well.

Here’s a timeline to consider:

1940s: DTP vaccines rolled out, and polio cases rose.
1946: 25,000 polio cases (paralysis component starts to appear).
1948: DTP becomes widely recommended.
1952: Polio epidemic reaches its peak, with paralysis cases soaring.

What if what we’re seeing is a rise in paralysis due to vaccinations?

Let’s discuss the term Provocation Poliomyelitis.

The Vaccination Paralysis Connection

From the mainstream perspective, provocation poliomyelitis refers to:

“a phenomenon where intramuscular injections, particularly vaccines and antibiotic injections, increase the risk of paralytic polio in individuals —already infected with the poliovirus.”

“Already infected with the poliovirus” is an interesting addition to the term as we will see.

In the 1900s, physicians noticed that children who received injections, particularly for diphtheria, whooping cough, and penicillin treatments, had a higher risk of developing paralysis — if they were exposed to poliovirus.
In the 1940s and 50s, researchers in the U.S., U.K., and the Soviet Union systematically studied the connection between injections and polio outbreaks.
In the 50s, epidemiological studies confirmed that injections increased the risk of paralysis, especially — if administered during the early viremic phase of polio infection.

To recap, 75% of polio cases are asymptomatic, with the other 25% having mild symptoms. These members have been diagnosed with polio.

They then receive an injection, and now what occurs is “paralysis with polio,” hence poliomyelitis.

What gets lost in the sauce is the fact that an injection is included in the mix.

But never fear. Our medical industries have an explanation for that2.

From the 40s onward, we see a spike in cases as polio begun to rise in its incidence. It seemed as if this epidemic would ravage the world.

But before all seemed lost, a vaccine was introduced to save the world.

The Polio “Eradication” Myth

By 1952, polio cases peaked at 52,000. Interestingly, 37% of these cases had only mild paralysis, while 63% had no paralysis at all.

At this time, the link between paralysis and vaccination was not widely recognized. Yet, as mass vaccination campaigns expanded, so did reported paralysis cases, reinforcing the image of polio as a primarily paralytic disease.

Then, in 1955, Jonas Salk’s vaccine was introduced. Almost overnight, the polio epidemic was declared cured.

In 1956, one year after the vaccine, polio rates dropped by 50%. In 1957, two years after the vaccine, cases had declined by over 90%.

A miracle? Not quite.

Here’s what happened. Remember, the only difference between polio and the flu was the paralysis:

Before 1955: Polio was diagnosed broadly—temporary paralysis, even for just 24 hours, counted as polio. Cases of bacterial meningitis and other neurological conditions were lumped in.
After 1955: Following the introduction of the polio vaccine and the Cutter incident, the CDC and the American Public Health Association3 revised the diagnostic framework, tightening the criteria for what qualified as polio.

Cases now required prolonged paralysis—often 60 days or more—to be classified as polio.4 Those that didn’t meet this new threshold were simply reclassified as other neurological conditions.

The result? I’m sure you can imagine. Cases of polio paralysis plummeted.

The Cutter Incident

In 1955, Cutter Laboratories—one of the companies licensed to manufacture the Salk polio vaccine— “is said to have” accidentally released doses containing live, fully active poliovirus.

Mainstream accounts state that:

40,000 children developed mild polio-like symptoms.
200 children suffered severe paralysis.
10 children died from vaccine-associated polio.

However, another argument can be made: What we saw with the Cutter Incident was an example of Provocation Poliomyelitis—paralysis induced by vaccination itself rather than by a so-called virus.

These vaccines contained neurotoxic chemicals, including formaldehyde, mercury, lead, and others.

Additionally, they were administered via intramuscular (IM) injection, which is not a harmless process. IM injections penetrate deep muscle tissue, which is densely packed with nerves and capillaries.

If an injection damages a nerve or provokes inflammation, it could result in weakness, numbness, or full paralysis—exactly what was observed in Cutter vaccine recipients.

The mainstream narrative attributes these outcomes to the presence of the polio virus in the vaccine. However, given the known toxic effects of vaccine ingredients, the role of nerve trauma in paralysis, and historical misclassification of polio-like illnesses, we must reconsider whether these cases were“viral polio” or a consequence of the vaccine itself.

Symptoms not presenting paralysis could be influenza or, if temporary paralysis is under 60 days, were counted... as something else.

Polio disappeared — not because of the vaccine —but due to reclassification.

However, a question remains: If we are tying the paralysis to the vaccinations, where did all the paralytic cases go?

The paralysis didn’t vanish; it simply stopped being called polio.

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The Rise of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS)

GBS is a neurological attack on the nervous system, causing weakness, tingling, and paralysis —symptoms that eerily resemble paralytic polio.

Here’s where things get interesting:

Before 1955: Any case with fever, paralysis, and neurological symptoms was broadly classified as polio.
After 1955: More precise diagnoses separated paralytic polio from conditions like GBS and meningitis.

In short, paralytic polio became GBS.

One of the most famous polio cases was that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became paralyzed from the waist down. For decades, his case was used to illustrate the severity of polio.

However, recent research suggests he may have actually had Guillain-Barré Syndrome, not polio. From Science.org5, we read:

Immunological pediatrician Armond Goldman of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston now says FDR’s symptoms are more concordant with Guillain-Barré syndrome...
For example, polio paralyzes limbs unevenly and doesn’t move up the body as happened with Roosevelt. The intense pain he felt when people touched his paralyzed legs isn’t commonly seen in poliomyelitis.
What’s more, it would be highly unusual for polio to strike someone well into adulthood.

GBS later became associated with vaccines. In 1976, the swine flu vaccine was linked to GBS, a connection so concerning it was reported on 60 Minutes6.

In essence, Salk’s vaccine didn’t eliminate polio—medical reclassification did.

Disease Reclassification Over Time

Polio wasn’t the first—or last—disease to undergo this reclassification. The pattern is clear:

Polio

1940s-1950s: Polio “epidemics” emerge
1950s: Polio is eradicated, and we begin to see cases of GBS

SIDS

1970s: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rises.
1990s: SIDS “disappears” with the Back to Sleep campaign while accidental suffocation increases.

COVID-19

2020s: COVID-19 cases and deaths skyrocket.
2020s: Flu deaths plummet

What do all these have in common? Disease definitions were altered, and medical narratives shifted.

Once again, we see how narratives shape history—and protect medical and pharmaceutical interests.

The diseases didn’t vanish—they were renamed.

Closing Thoughts

The eradication of polio stands as one of the greatest triumphs of modern medicine.

At best, it’s an excellent course in narrative telling. At worst, unfortunately, it’s another carefully crafted deception designed to justify widespread medical interventions.

When we pull back the curtain, we find a much a more accurate picture:

The majority of polio cases were mild and indistinguishable from other illnesses.
Polio-related paralysis surged at the same time mass vaccination campaigns were introduced.
The reclassification of polio cases after 1955 artificially reduced polio statistics.
Conditions like Guillain-Barré Syndrome may be the modern equivalent of ‘paralytic polio’ under a different name.

Once you see the pattern, you can’t unsee it.

The question is: how many other medical ‘miracles’ rest on similar foundations?

Thank you for taking the time to read this piece. This one may be my best one yet! I’m curious to your insights and feedback.

As always, thank you for the time and attention.

Ashe,

Franklin O’Kanu.

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