The 1954 Salk Vaccine Trial: Analysis of the Medium 199 Placebo

The Salk polio vaccine trials are frequently cited as the gold standard of placebo-controlled research. Yet a review of the original trial documents and contemporaneous reports reveals that no true inert placebo group was used. This article examines those primary sources directly, allowing readers to evaluate the trial design for themselves, and explores how modern censorship mechanisms have limited public access to information that challenges the accepted historical narrative.