The Scientist Who Gave Up 9 Trillion Won ($7 Billion)

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For the public good, Salk chose not to patent his research. As a result, the polio vaccine distributed through the WHO costs a mere 100 won (about 10 cents) per dose, and global polio cases have plummeted to less than 1% of pre-vaccine levels. Thanks to Salk, humanity is effectively free from the fear of polio.

As vaccinations were successfully implemented and incidence rates dropped, the WHO declared polio eradicated in Western Europe in 1994 and in the Western Pacific region, including South Korea, in 2000.