The coronavirus is far from the first contagious illness that has upended society. The polio virus plagued the United States for decades before a vaccine was distributed in 1955. Kansas News Service reporter Anne Kniggendorf spoke with 80-year-old Pat Gray at her assisted living facility in Lenexa about surviving that disease.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration among public media throughout Kansas to report on health, education, and politics across the state.