NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
Polio survivor Ruth Tidy speaks to a table of Hatters Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 at the Medicine Hat Public Library. Local rotarians held an information evening to aknowledge the worldwide work the group is done with polio and vaccinating against it.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker
Local Rotarians gathered at the Medicine Hat Public Library on Thursday to celebrate the work they have done as a group to fight polio.
“Today is World Polio Day,” said Rotarian Sandy MacKay, who spoke at the event. “Everywhere, all over the world, Rotarians are celebrating what we have done to fight the disease over the years.
“Polio was a very bad disease decades ago, and as vaccines have been distributed, we’ve been about to eradicate the disease by about 99.9 per cent.”
MacKay says it has been an uphill battle to immunize the world and two countries still have cases with polio, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Canada and the United States were vaccinated right away, but other parts of the world couldn’t afford it,” he said. “In 1977, Rotarians decided that eradication of polio was going to be the goal.
“Over the years we’ve done so much work and we’re getting closer and closer to getting rid of polio.”
MacKay says Rotary will continue to work to fight polio and raise awareness about the disease.
