Karen Torgaly

And that was that at that time, there was a red telephone in the offices of top officials that went straight to the Politburo or the ruling people in the Soviet Union.

And he knew where some of those red phones were that he was not allowed to use himself.

But he knew if he could get a hold of this guy named Anastas Mikoyan, who was in charge of public health in the whole Soviet Union, he might have a chance of convincing him to go over Petrovsky's head and give them permission to start.

They had known each other.

They had met.

Chumakov knew that Mikoyan had grandchildren that he wanted protected from polio more than anything.

What Chumakov did was he went to one of the offices where he knew there was a red phone and sat until the receptionist stepped away from her desk for a minute.

And he ran into the office, picked up the red telephone, and asked for Mikoyan.

He said, Anastas Mikoyan, this is Mikhail Chumakov.

I have a vaccine for poliovirus and Boris Petrovsky doesn't let me use it.

What can I do?

So Anastas Mikoyan said, is it a good vaccine?

And Mikhail Chumakov said, yes, it is a good vaccine.

He said, use it.

And then he hung up.

And that was it.

Ultimately, the Sabin oral polio vaccine was given to around 100 million people in the USSR.

It was more efficient.

It was easier to store.

It was cheaper to make.