"I spent my whole life doing one thing," Gu Fangzhou once said. Known as "the father of sugar pills (糖丸)", Gu passed away on January 2, 2019. Eight months later, he received a national honorary-title (荣誉称号) "the People's Scientist" for his polio (脊髓灰质炎) research.
Gu Fangzhou, a famous medical scientist, was born in June, 1926. Gu's family faced a difficult time with the sudden death of his father. He studied hard and finally entered Peking University as a medical student in 1944. After graduation, Gu made the decision to work to help improve public health.
In 1955, polio broke out in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. It paralyzed (使瘫痪) 1,680 people, mostly children aged below seven. It spread to neighboring areas and resulted in 466 deaths. Gu was asked to lead polio research in 1957. "At that time the only way to prevent polio was to invent a vaccine (疫苗)," said Gu.
In 1959 Gu succeeded in developing the first polio live vaccine. Later, he developed the "sugar-coated pill" vaccine in the early 1960s. It not only tasted better but was more affordable and easier to keep. To test the vaccine, Gu tried the vaccine in person and later his one-month-old son was vaccinated. This inspired his team to vaccinate their kids. They became the first group of people in China to try a polio vaccine. "If we don' t believe in what we produce, how can others believe in it?" said Gu.
Gradually, the sugar-coated polio vaccine was made available in China. It saved millions of people, especially kids, from being disabled. In 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that China was already a polio-free country. "We feel satisfied. I can tell people that I tried my best, and your kids will no longer get polio," said Gu. "That's all we hoped for. "
