That report here now are the secretary of Health Education and welfare, mrs. Obito call papi and the Surgeon General of the United StatesPublic Health service, dr. Leonard a shealy secretary hobby. Good evening. Ladies and gentlemen. Poliomyelitis and the safety of the sauk antipolio vaccine. Is vitally important to all of us . Scientific processes are often difficult for us to understand as lame. Yet it is important that we understand the results of scientific findings. So that we can be intelligent in making decisions about our own children. The Public Health service of the United States whose duty it is to protect the health of the nation. Its a core of positions. Scientist and other professional health workers. It is served us with integrity. In 1798 i have asked the Surgeon General of the Public Health service. To talk with us tonight about vaccines. And the soak vaccine in particular . He has served as an officer in the Service Since 1930. And as your Surgeon General since 1948 it is my privilege. To present a distinguished Public Servant dr. Leonard a shealy many questions have been raised and recent weeks about the new vaccine against poliomyelitis. People are asking is it absolutely safe. Does it really protect against polio . Will there be enough vaccine for largescale use this summer . I will give you the facts about the vaccine as i know them. And i want to give you some idea of the outlook for the future. First something about the disease itself polio occurs everywhere in this country and throughout the world it is caused by a virus. So small that its presence cannot be known except by its effect on living animals or on cells in tissue culture. Nearly everyone is in repeated contact with the virus and is infected by it at some time in his life. The disease is generally very mild and goes unnoticed. In cases that come to the attention of physicians there is fever sometimes a sore throat. Sometimes the muscles ache would recovery is usually prompt. However in about 1 or less of these cases. The virus invades the spinal cord or the brain and causes muscle weakness or paralysis. Polio brings many personal tragedies each year it is truly a National Health problem. But we should recognize that more children die each year from pneumonia cancer and Heart Disease for instance than from polio. Even without immunization during an average year the chance that any individual of any age will get paralytic poliomyelitis is one in 7500. One in 32,000 will suffer permanent crippling and the chances are only one in 68,000 will die from polio. So far this year throughout the nation in the age group from one to nineteen there have been one and three tenths cases of paralytic polio among each hundred thousand. Last year for the same period the rate was one in four tenths. The comparable fiveyear average was one in one tenth per thousand. While it is much too early to make any predictions. There is no reason to believe that the incidence of polio this year will be greater than the fiveyear average. Experience indicates however, that there will be scattered local epidemics. And some may be severe. Let me tell you in a few words about the development of the polio vaccine. Dr. Jonas salk had the knowledge intuition and tenacity to create a polio myelitis vaccine out of the sum of available scientific knowledge in virology and immunology. The National Foundation for infantile paralysis through public contributions supported the development and application of doctor socks vaccine. It was carried through the experimental stage tested on a large scale last year and launched this year as a major nationwide Immunization Program under foundation leadership. Now i want to explain how a vaccine works and how it is made. To acquire immunity against contagious disease our bodies must create defenses against the bacteria or viruses which cause these diseases these defenses are called antibodies. Antibodies, the various kinds are always present in the system. Whenever the organisms of disease invade the body the system becomes a battleground between the forces of health and disease. Vaccines are the product of infectious agents. If vaccine stimulates the body to produce its own antibodies. These antibodies then can help prevent disease. That is how a vaccine against poliomyelitis works. Now, let me tell you how it is made. First polio virus is grown on tissue from monkey kidneys. Since there are three important types of folio virus. Each must be grown separately. Second the virus of each type is an activated separately by treatment with formaldehyde over a period of days. Third the three inactivated viruses are mixed. Finally, the mixture is bottled or distribution. Now let me explain what we mean by an activation. At the beginning there might be as many as four million live virus particles in a teaspoon of the substance. At the lowest point that virus concentration can be measured there might be only one virus particle in a quart of material. But in practice the manufacturers dont stop there. In activation process is continued beyond this point. You may wonder why the manufacturers cannot treat this vaccine fluid indefinitely with formaldehyde for added safety. This is not possible because the vaccine loses some of its power to give immunity if it is treated too long. A good vaccine must be made both as effective and as safe as possible. The basic theory has been that during the period of treatment with formaldehyde the course of an activation followed a Straight Line down. With continuing treatment it was calculated that there would be perhaps as little as one live virus in a million tons of vaccine fluid. Actual experience in largescale manufacturer has demonstrated that whether for theoretical or practical reasons the course of an activation does not necessarily follow a Straight Line. Instead it often tends to form a curve. This means that we cannot be sure that there has been adequate and activation by getting a single negative test at a single point. We have learned that it is necessary to have two consecutive negative tests. Three days apart from experience accumulated since april 12th. We have learned that it was possible impossible that it was possible to build in a largescale manufacturing and Testing Process added safeguards. Our policy has been safety not speed except as the latter is compatible with safety. There are three key points for safety testing during this process. The first is during the period of an activation. Two consecutive tests and tissue culture my show no active virus. Before the three types are mixed. The second test is done after the mixture. This test must show no live virus not only in tissue culture, but also in monkeys. The third is a test made on samples of vaccine after it has been bottled and before distribution. I want to make it clear that there is always the possibility of very minut amounts of active virus in the vaccine. However, these amounts of active virus have been reduced as low as science can reduce them without destroying the effectiveness of the vaccine. The possible presence of very very small amounts of active virus is true of all vaccines made as this polio vaccine is made from active virus. We have successfully used these vaccines made from live organisms. For as long as fifty years because medical science knows that they convey a great benefit to mankind. It took time to work out the extremely Technical Details of these additional safeguards. With scientists and manufacturers the new standards require some changes in production and Testing Processes by the manufacturers. Making and testing a vaccine is a difficult and delicate process. You cannot make viruses me deadlines. You cannot force i scientific work to meet dates on a calendar. And it must be kept in mind that the entire process of manufacturing a batch of vaccine. From beginning to end takes about 90 days. That is a reason why we can give you no precise estimates of how much vaccine will be available. At any given time the manufacturers have assured me that they can and will produce vaccine under these requirements. But i want to make it clear that they will not be able to produce enough vaccine to immunize all children this summer. The field trial of 1954 showed that though a child is vaccinated there will still remain a chance that he will acquire paralytic poliomyelitis because the vaccine does not cause all children to develop immunity. This is true with respect to all immunization procedures. It is true because there is no such thing as a perfect vaccine. Against this disease poliomyelitis or any other disease. But and this is the important point. The risk is much less than if the child were not vaccinated. Ive been presenting the National Picture as i see it as Surgeon General of the Public Health service. By releasing more vaccine for use as i did yesterday. I have again demonstrated our confidence. In its safety and effectiveness but conditions vary widely in different sections of the country and a different times of the year. These general considerations must be applied by doctors in each community. Each position has his own training and experience and most important. He knows the individual needs of his patients at a particular time and in a particular community. The Family Doctor always has in addition access to the Technical Information from Health Officers and from medical organizations. It is the family physician then who can best help parents who have special questions and problems. Decisions on polio vaccination like many others concerning health that arise from time to time by decisions that parents have to make with the advice of their physicians. Ladies and gentlemen from dr. Sheelys report to you. I know that you feel at the scientists the Public Health service. The doctors and the manufacturers are working together to give our children a safe and effective vaccine . To that in we shall all continue to work. This has been a special report on the sauk polio vaccine the secretary of Health Education and welfare, mrs. Ovita kopati and the Surgeon General of the United StatesPublic Health service, dr. Leonard a sheeley have presented the highlights of the final report of the department on the test. It conducted on the soft vaccine. The United StatesPublic Health service is part of the department of Health Education and welfare specifically charged by the government to protect and improve the health of the people of the nation. The Public Health service under the Surgeon General has origins in early american history. It was in 1798 that Congress Passed the first bill which eventually led to the establishment of the Public Health service as we know it today as part of the department of Health Education and welfare. The department is the newest in the federal government having been established by congress on april 1st 1953. This program has come to you from washington. And was a presentation of the combined radio and televisio so lets started do you mind if i sit no. Okay now there is im just afraid ill fall off the front of this. Welcome to the panel of president ial descent thats here. And were delighted to have the panelists. Ill introduce them a minute. And i think the way well handle this is well take a few minutes and you what he or she wants to tell about anything, thats their