Michael Garin, the chief of Abu Dhabi’s media hub "Twofour54" received the COVID-19 vaccine shot on Thursday in the emirate. Known as the polio pioneer, Michael Garin was one of those people who received the first polio vaccine in 1954. Polio pioneer is the name given to those individuals who took the first polio vaccine in the 1950s in the United States.

While speaking to the medics, he said that he became like a rock star when he got the first polio vaccine shot.

"We were just joking that they haven’t distributed the vaccine yet in the United States so maybe I’m the only person on the planet who was a polio pioneer and had the COVID vaccine," he said, as quoted by media reports.

The disease of Polio attacks the nerve cells and may cause paralysis and even death. It can be transmitted through contaminated water or food or even person-to-person contact with an infected individual. Polio caused a massive crisis in the early 1950s affecting several children and even former US President Franklin D Roosevelt.

The UAE has been taken all possible efforts to eradicate polio in several countries across the world, including Pakistan.

Speaking about the polio crisis in the US in the 1950s, Mr Garin said that it was a devastating affliction.

“Children did not go to playgrounds or drink from water fountains. It was something that could kill you and, if not, left you paralysed or living with disabilities. It was really horrific," he added.

During that time, efforts were made to develop a potential vaccine to curb polio through the power of science, logistics of the state and the spirit of public duty, Mr Garin noted. Dr Jonas Salk developed a vaccine that proved effective to tackle the polio disease and Michael Garin became one of the first individuals to receive a jab of the vaccine at his school in Long Island, New York.

He added that it was a civil era where people who lost conceded gracefully. He regarded it as his patriotic duty to get the vaccine, where parents signed the consent forms and public schools ran the programme. Now 74, Mr Garin was 8-year-old when he received the polio vaccine shot.

Currently, the world is facing another severe health crisis in the form of COVID-19 that has devastated economies and killed more than a million individuals. Hopes have raised with the development of potential vaccines to combat COVID-19 in several parts of the world.

Amid this hope, anti-vaxxer sentiment can create hurdles in the fight against the pandemic. Reportedly, people have launched anti-mask rallies in part of the United States. Michael Garin explained that public responsibility is one of the most significant cures for COVID-19, adding that strong leadership can change people's reckless attitudes. He highlighted that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and other leading figures in the UAE government have taken the vaccine to support the efforts of the medical sector to combat the COVID-19 virus.

“Here in the UAE it is 'do what I do'. Other leaders say 'do what I tell you'," he added.

He further paid respect to the workers of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre where he got the vaccine shot and encourage the public to get vaccinated as well as to take the flu shot. He also praised the professionalism displayed by the workers at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.