By Tara Sims and Kelsey Koym
Breathing Life into History: The Iron Lung and the Fight Against Polio
As we prepare to observe World Immunization Week (April 20–26), it’s a powerful moment to pause and reflect—not just on the importance of vaccines today, but on the challenges that shaped our path to this point. Here at the McGovern Historical Center, we care for many fascinating artifacts that tell the story of medical progress, but few are as immediately striking—or as deeply symbolic—as the iron lung.
You might recognize it as that large, capsule-like machine from black-and-white photos of hospital wards in the 1940s and ’50s. Ours stands quietly in the archives now, but decades ago, it was a lifeline for patients, particularly children, whose lives had been turned upside down by poliomyelitis, or polio.
The Machine That Breathed for You
Polio was once one of the most feared diseases in the world, known for striking quickly and sometimes leaving survivors paralyzed—especially in the muscles that control breathing. That’s where the iron lung came in.
This large mechanical respirator worked by enclosing a patient’s body (up to the neck) in an airtight chamber. Using changes in air pressure, it would expand and contract the patient’s chest, mimicking the natural process of breathing. It was noisy, bulky, and required constant monitoring—but for many, it was the difference between life and death.
Today’s ventilators may seem sleek and high-tech by comparison, but the iron lung was groundbreaking in its time. It marked one of the first large-scale uses of mechanical respiratory support in modern medicine—a step that helped pave the way for the life-saving respiratory care we have today.
Our Iron Lung: A Local Window into Global History
The iron lung in our archives isn’t just an old machine—it’s a story. A story of fear and hope, of desperation and innovation. It reminds us of an era when polio outbreaks were common, summers were filled with anxiety, and public pools closed at the first whisper of infection. Families feared even a mild cough.
And yet, amidst all of that, communities mobilized. Hospitals adapted. Scientists and engineers collaborated. The iron lung is a powerful symbol of how medicine responded in real time to an overwhelming crisis.
From Treatment to Prevention
Of course, the real turning point came not from a machine—but from a vaccine.
With the introduction of the polio vaccine in the mid-1950s, everything changed. Mass immunization campaigns swept the globe, and polio cases began to plummet. The demand for iron lungs dwindled. And over time, what was once an essential piece of hospital equipment became a historical artifact.
That’s the power of immunization—to not just treat a disease, but to eliminate it at its source. It’s what World Immunization Week is all about: celebrating the global effort to prevent disease, protect health, and promote well-being across all ages and communities.
The Jack R. Hild, MD papers
In honor of World Immunization Week, which overlaps this year with National Infant Immunization Week (April 21-28), the McGovern Historical Center has digitized a small portion of the MS 056 Jack R. Hild, MD papers. A folder of newspaper clippings was selected to be digitized regarding the “Victory Over Polio” mass immunization program that Dr. Hild directed in 1962.
The clippings illustrate the industrious push headed by doctors from the Harris County Medical Society to inoculate everyone in Harris County and Houston against polio. Dr. Hild’s own children were affected by the dreadful disease before there was a vaccine, and the clips discuss their lives, including details such as how Lisbeth Hild slept in an Iron Lung at night.
These newspaper clippings are impactful to the historical record because they demonstrate that there is nothing new under the sun. Like today, people must be assured that vaccines are safe and effective. We now have over 100+ years of research and evidence demonstrating vaccines’ success, and society can be both healthier and wiser with this knowledge. McGovern is proud to celebrate Dr. Hild’s efforts as well as those who both volunteered and who took the vaccine in 1962 to build herd immunity against polio.
To see the rest of the newspaper clippings, please check them out through AToM. If you would like to check out photographs and another blog post about the immunization program, check out the link to the former post platform The Black Bag’s post on Centennial Photo Display: 1960’s Part II.
Why This Matters Now
In an era where we benefit from highly effective vaccines for diseases that once ravaged entire communities, it’s easy to forget what life was like before they existed. But historical objects like the iron lung help us remember. They show us the very real human cost of infectious disease—and the extraordinary efforts that were made to combat it before prevention was possible.
For medical professionals, students, colleagues, and curious minds in our community, the iron lung is a tangible reminder of both how far we’ve come—and why we can’t take our progress for granted.
As we mark World Immunization Week, we hope this story inspires reflection and appreciation for the medical innovations, both past and present, that shape our lives today. And we invite you to visit our archives, either in person or virtually, to explore more of the history behind the medicine.
