--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The drops (polio vaccine) were…" description: "\"“The drops (polio vaccine) were designed,said these believers. Their intention and effect was genocidal. Nobody was to swallow them, or administer them..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/christopher-hitchens-117_polio-vaccine_the-drops-polio-vaccine-were-designed-sa_867826.jpg" --- # The drops (polio vaccine) were designed,said these… ![“The drops (polio vaccine) were designed,said these believers. Their intention and effect was genocidal. Nobody was to swallow them, or administer them to infants. Within months, polio was back...” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/christopher-hitchens-117_polio-vaccine_the-drops-polio-vaccine-were-designed-sa_867826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/christopher-hitchens-117_polio-vaccine_the-drops-polio-vaccine-were-designed-sa_867826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/christopher-hitchens-117_polio-vaccine_the-drops-polio-vaccine-were-designed-sa_867826.jpg) > ““The drops (polio vaccine) were designed,said these believers. Their intention and effect was genocidal. Nobody was to swallow them, or administer them to infants. Within months, polio was back...”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker claims the polio vaccine was a malicious plot to harm infants, suggesting a conspiracy behind its creation. **In simple terms:** Vaccine seen as a harmful conspiracy. Key Takeaway Question sources critically. Themes conspiracy health trust Mood skeptical concerned Type controversial political When to use this quote - vaccination campaigns - public health policy - media literacy Key Concepts public health bioethics Questions to Reflect On - Is there credible evidence for the claim? - How does misinformation affect health decisions? A Different Perspective Evidence overwhelmingly supports vaccine safety and efficacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drops Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drops-polio-921180/) [Months Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months-polio-921182/) [Polio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio/) [Polio vaccine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio-vaccine/) [Vaccine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vaccine/) [Vaccine Designed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vaccine-designed-921181/) ## Related quotes > [When you inoculate children with a polio vaccine, you don't sleep well for two or three months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/when-you-inoculate-children-with-a-polio-vaccine-you-don-t-sleep-well/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [Every child is a gift of Allah, and every child in Pakistan, to me, is like my own child, so I will do my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-afridi/every-child-is-a-gift-of-allah-and-every-child-in-pakistan-to-me-is/) [Shahid Afridi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-afridi/) > [The main problem, certainly, for the people who will not get vaccinated with Thimerosal, which was put into polio vaccine. And the belief was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oshinsky/the-main-problem-certainly-for-the-people-who-will-not-get-vaccinated/) [David Oshinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oshinsky/) > [But cancer can also be fun with its luncheons, theatre parties, and fund raising luaus. ...What will they all do if a cure comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-berman/but-cancer-can-also-be-fun-with-its-luncheons-theatre-parties-and/) [Edgar Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-berman/) > [I have studied the effects of our new lots of polio vaccine in 100 adult volunteers and during the next few days shall give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-sabin/i-have-studied-the-effects-of-our-new-lots-of-polio-vaccine-in-100/) [Albert Sabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-sabin/) > [We have yet to beat our drums for birth control in the way we beat them for polio vaccine. We are still unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-calderone/we-have-yet-to-beat-our-drums-for-birth-control-in-the-way-we-beat/) [Mary Calderone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-calderone/) > [Provocation polio. That is the truth about those outbreaks of polio. And I offer a well considered personal opinion that polio is a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viera-scheibner/provocation-polio-that-is-the-truth-about-those-outbreaks-of-polio/) [Viera Scheibner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viera-scheibner/) > [That is why we have the polio vaccine. People are blazing their own trial. That is what seems to be important. I don't care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-threadgill/that-is-why-we-have-the-polio-vaccine-people-are-blazing-their-own/) [Henry Threadgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-threadgill/) > [Reply when questioned on the safety of the polio vaccine he developed: It is safe, and you can't get safer than safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/reply-when-questioned-on-the-safety-of-the-polio-vaccine-he-developed/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [I am no saviour. I’m absolutely the last person on the planet who can practically help. I don’t know how to make the different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-am-no-saviour-i-m-absolutely-the-last-person-on-the-planet-who-can/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [Even to this day, the government, the FDA is refusing to use the sophisticated biotechnology to evaluate the contaminants in the vaccines such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-horowitz/even-to-this-day-the-government-the-fda-is-refusing-to-use-the/) [Leonard Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-horowitz/) > [My two Jamaican cousins ... were studying engineering. 'That's where the money is,' Mom advised. ... I was to be an engineering major, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/my-two-jamaican-cousins-were-studying-engineering-that-s-where-the/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [ When I worked on the polio vaccine, I had a theory. I guided each \[experiment\] by imagining myself in the phenomenon in which I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/when-i-worked-on-the-polio-vaccine-i-had-a-theory-i-guided-each/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [Except for the people who were there that one day they discovered the polio vaccine, being part of history is rarely a good idea.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/except-for-the-people-who-were-there-that-one-day-they-discovered-the/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It shouldn't be polio versus autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/if-you-give-us-a-safe-vaccine-we-ll-use-it-it-shouldn-t-be-polio/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Polio quotes > [If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It shouldn't be polio versus autism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/if-you-give-us-a-safe-vaccine-we-ll-use-it-it-shouldn-t-be-polio/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [Because I could dance, my folks went through hell so I could be in movies. But I didn't dance in pictures. I cried! At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-holt/because-i-could-dance-my-folks-went-through-hell-so-i-could-be-in/) [David Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-holt/) > [Reply when questioned on the safety of the polio vaccine he developed: It is safe, and you can't get safer than safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-salk/reply-when-questioned-on-the-safety-of-the-polio-vaccine-he-developed/) [Jonas Salk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-salk/) > [I am the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. My mother is a survivor of both polio and of the Igbo genocide during her country's civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/i-am-the-daughter-of-nigerian-immigrants-my-mother-is-a-survivor-of/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [Ninety percent of the cases of polio are in security-vulnerable areas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/ninety-percent-of-the-cases-of-polio-are-in-security-vulnerable-areas/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [We are ever on the threshold of new journeys and new discoveries. Can you imagine the excitement of the Wright brothers on the morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/we-are-ever-on-the-threshold-of-new-journeys-and-new-discoveries-can/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Fear is the polio of the soul. Faith is the life based on unseen realities; it is the word become flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-jordan/fear-is-the-polio-of-the-soul-faith-is-the-life-based-on-unseen/) [Clarence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-jordan/) > [That is why we have the polio vaccine. People are blazing their own trial. That is what seems to be important. I don't care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-threadgill/that-is-why-we-have-the-polio-vaccine-people-are-blazing-their-own/) [Henry Threadgill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-threadgill/) > [Having children made us look differently at all these things that we take for granted, like taking your child to get a vaccine against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melinda-gates/having-children-made-us-look-differently-at-all-these-things-that-we/) [Melinda Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melinda-gates/) > [If somebody is working on a new medicine, computer science helps us model those things. We have a whole group here in Seattle called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-somebody-is-working-on-a-new-medicine-computer-science-helps-us/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I do not argue that nature is sacrosanct in the sense that we must never tamper with nature. That would disempower, really, all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/i-do-not-argue-that-nature-is-sacrosanct-in-the-sense-that-we-must/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [So, obviously, autism - which is the key in this - is a very big problem. We need more studies about it. We certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oshinsky/so-obviously-autism-which-is-the-key-in-this-is-a-very-big-problem-we/) [David Oshinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oshinsky/) > [There are very few issues that lie specifically in one region now. Polio in Syria doesn't affect Syria alone. I don't think any issue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/there-are-very-few-issues-that-lie-specifically-in-one-region-now/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [We've actually eliminated Type II polio in the world, at least as far as we can tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-berkley/we-ve-actually-eliminated-type-ii-polio-in-the-world-at-least-as-far/) [Seth Berkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-berkley/) > [Polio's pretty special because once you get an eradication, you no longer have to spend money on it; it's just there as a gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/polio-s-pretty-special-because-once-you-get-an-eradication-you-no/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) [Browse all 99 Polio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polio/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The drops (polio vaccine) were designed,said these believers. 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