Wee ones receiving their polio vaccinations on sugar lumps. Polio was a major cause of death in children in the early to mid-20th century. In the 1950s, outbreaks of the disease killed or paralysed millions of children and adults. At the time of this film, two vaccines had been created. One was administered by injection, but the other, developed by Albert Sabin, was orally ingested via a sugar cube.