Dr. Peter Salk vaguely remembers the day he was vaccinated against polio in 1953.

His father, Dr. Jonas Salk, made history by creating the polio vaccine at the University of Pittsburgh and inoculated his family as soon as he felt it was safe and effective.

Although the vaccine hadn’t undergone any trials yet, Salk was among one of the first children to ever receive the vaccine when he was 9 years old.

“My father had brought home some vaccine (and) these terrifying pieces of equipment that neither I, nor my brothers, very much enjoyed seeing,” he told USA TODAY. “Big glass syringes and reusable needles that needed to be sterilized by boiling over the stove.”

Salk remembers getting the shot while standing alongside his brothers in the kitchen of their family home outside of Pittsburgh. Two weeks later, the boys visited their father at the D.T. Watson Home for Crippled Children to receive their second shot. This time, cameras were waiting for them.