Jonas edward salk (/ sɔːlk /; Salk ’s vaccine was released for use in the united states in 1955. Hailed as a miracle worker, salk never patented the vaccine or earned any money from his discovery, preferring it be distributed as widely as possible. · by choosing not to patent the vaccine — famously asking, “could you patent the sun?”— jonas salk ensured that people around the world could access it equitably. Jonathan salk , jonas salk ’ s youngest son, recalls his father wondering whether the model that developed the polio vaccine could be used to conquer poverty and other. · in our film, dr. Founding the salk institute for biological studies in la jolla in 1963 was salk ’s second triumph. “in 2007 the number of polio cases the whole world decreased by 99. 9% of cases to just 1,652 cases. ” (world health organization) His refusal to profit from his discovery reflected his deep belief that lifesaving medical advancements should belong to everyone. · so how much money did jonas salk forfeit by not patenting his polio vaccine ? – ) was an american virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. · jonas salk ’ s vaccine helped people around the world get vaccinated and survive the dangerous virus, polio. In the years that followed, polio incidence in the united states fell from 18 to less than 2 cases per 100,000 people. · jonas salk , american physician and medical researcher who developed the first safe and effective vaccine for polio. Born jonas salk ; Its tough to calculate an exact number, but most scientists agree that the amount was easily in the billions of.