The WPA fights viruses

Above: This photo shows children with infantile paralysis getting exercise in a WPA therapy program in Albany, New York, May 1936. Infantile paralysis is caused by the poliovirus. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.

Above: A WPA poster promoting vaccination. Smallpox is caused by the variola virus. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

WPA vs. Virus

During the New Deal, WPA workers assisted in the fight against many viruses. One of their primary battles was against the poliovirus. According to the Mayo Clinic, "Polio [also called "infantile paralysis"] is a contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes nerve injury leading to paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death"; and (similar to some people who get the coronavirus) "the majority of people who are infected with the [polio]virus don't get sick and aren't aware they've been infected."

Unfortunately, as we're learning today, even a small percentage can equal a very large overall number. For a good portion of the 20th century, polio wreaked havoc in America. For example:

"By the 1950s, polio had become one of the most serious communicable diseases among children in the United States. In 1952 alone, nearly 60,000 children were infected with the virus; thousands were paralyzed, and more than 3,000 died" ("Wiping Out Polio: How The U.S. Snuffed Out A Killer," NPR, October 15, 2012). 

Before the 1950s, President Franklin Roosevelt had pushed for improved polio research, and President Harry Truman had warned: "The fight against infantile paralysis cannot be a local war. It must be nationwide. It must be total war in every city, town and village throughout the land. For only with a united front can we ever hope to win any war" (see previous link).

There was no effective vaccine for polio during the New Deal era, so the WPA had to use other methods to fight the disease and help those infected. For example, a 1936 newspaper article reported:

"All resources of the WPA in Alabama yesterday were placed by Administrator Ray Crow at the disposal of Dr. J.N. Baker, State health officer, in the fight that is being waged against infantile paralysis now epidemic in north Alabama... Trained nurses will be furnished by the WPA to go into the 10 Alabama counties that have no health officers or public health units to aid in administering the preventive [nasal] spray, otherwise assist county medical societies and their individual members, and in general take the place of health officers insofar as is possible" ("WPA Enlisted In 'Polio War' As Scare Grows," The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama), July 21, 1936, p. 1).

The WPA also built or operated hydrotherapy centers for children who had physical problems or disabilities due to polio. For example, a newspaper reported in 1941:

"The most extensive of the WPA projects is active at the Neponsit Beach Hospital (New York City) for crippled children... Repair and modernization of the 33-year-old main building, which started last year, is being continued with the revamping of children's dressing rooms, serving pantries, offices and four wards... Making over of the hydrotherapy room will include installation of whirlpool saltwater baths and a Hubbard bath for the treatment of infantile paralysis cases" ("Improvements for Hospitals in Queens Co.," The Brooklyn Citizen (Brooklyn, New York), April 7, 1941, p. 2).

Above: This photo was taken in Longport, New Jersey, September 1937. The caption reads: "Infantile Paralysis - a child patient is shown being treated in a Hubbard-Currance Tub installed in the hospital by WPA. Betty Bacharach Home." Photo courtesy of the National Archives.