Samuel L. Katz, doctor who helped develop measles vaccine, dies at 95

In the summer of 1955, an outbreak of polio hit the Boston area just months after a vaccine was approved, but not in time to stop the surge. More than 2,000 polio cases overwhelmed the city’s pediatric units.

At Children’s Hospital, the lines outside were so long that medical teams worked into the night with flashlights to evaluate children, some limp and feverish in their parents’ arms. Helping with the triage was a third-year resident, Samuel L. Katz. He had found his life’s work.