1 of 1- aflem
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How Elvis Got Kids To Get Vaccinated Against Polio
It's a story I never heard before and wasn't around to see - how Elvis Presley influenced his younger fans to get vaccinated against polio at a time where those shots weren't common and one pundit raised concerns about the shot causing deaths.
It was part of a PSA (Public Service Announcement) that worked even better than health officials could have hoped. And it likely saved thousands of lives.
How Elvis got teens vaccinated against polio
- Robbie
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- Registered: February 17, 2025
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Re: How Elvis Got Kids To Get Vaccinated Against Polio
For the sake of accuracy, the CBC had the right story, but the wrong date. And ...
Elvis didn’t roll up his sleeves “in front of Sullivan himself” because Ed wasn’t there to host his show on September 9. He was recuperating from a car accident. Charles Laughton was the guest host that night in New York and he cut away to Elvis, live in Los Angeles, for his first performance on the Sullivan Show.
Weeks later, Elvis got his polio shot in New York on October 28, 1956.
“Backstage at CBS Studio 50, before the airing of The Ed Sullivan Show, New York City Commissioner of Health Leona Baumgartner, right, holds the arm of Elvis Presley as Assistant Commissioner Harold Fuerst administers the polio vaccine to the king of rock ‘n’ roll.”