In 1961, Dr. Albert Sabin created the oral Polio vaccine. This was a turning point in the history of Polio, because it was easy to administer, and much cheaper than the injected Polio vaccine, allowing for mass eradication in developing countries. Also, unlike the injected vaccine, the oral Polio vaccine could be administered by a person with no training.

The oral vaccine also immunized people faster, meaning that more people could be saved in epidemic. The vaccine was first tested in the Soviet Union in 1954. This version only provided immunity to one strain of Polio.

In 1963, an improved version started to be administered which provided immunity to all three strains of Polio. The continents of South and North America were declared free from Polio in 1994. Europe was free from Polio in 2002. The South-East Asia region was declared immunized much later, in 2014.

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