Shortly after Bill Gates’ “Polio and the Power of Vaccines” event—where Mr. Gates and a panel of experts including Sabin Executive Vice President Dr. Ciro de Quadros issued a renewed call to eliminate polio—one global health giant was quoted strongly opposing global polio elimination efforts.

As New York Times reporter Donald McNeil notes in this article published yesterday, “why does it matter what one particular expert thinks? Because, for better or worse, the mantle has been wrapped around the venerable 82-year-old Donald A. Henderson that he is “The Man Who Wiped Out Smallpox.”

Thankfully, Mr. McNeil’s article goes on to report how the esteemed Dr. Henderson has changed his opinion on the important matter of polio eradication. And the reason behind Dr. Henderson’s 180 is a conversation with Dr. de Quadros.

“The Man Who Found the Last Case of Smallpox in Ethiopia and Chased Polio and Measles Out of the Western Hemisphere,” aka Dr. de Quadros, was able to convince “The Man Who Wiped Out Smallpox” that Mr. Gates is committed to eradicating polio and that vaccine technology has advanced considerably, among other things.

Now, with Dr. Henderson on board, the global health community can forcefully move ahead with adding polio to the list of the diseases eliminated from humanity.

Read “Can Polio Be Eradicated? A Skeptic Now Thinks So.”