these are the proud hills of the state of virginia in the springtime of one thousand nine hundred and fifty six spring time beckoning to a small boy urging him to wonder with the wind to the farm perhaps over the pasture fence to catch a calf not an easy thing because after all a calf's a youngster like himself ride him sure well what's a day without a little rough and tumble when a boy needs comfort there's always home and mother and father this is the world of randy kerr of oakton virginia typical except for one thing randy was the first child to receive an injection of salk polio vaccine in the field trials in one thousand nine hundred and fifty four much however had preceded this moment when randy kerr made history in the allout fight against polio led by the national foundation for infantile paralysis there were many years of struggle and heartbreak parents lived in fear of polio's sudden attack and the tragic aftermath thousands upon thousands of children and adults fell prey to the crippler march of dimes funds were needed everywhere needed desperately by patients needed by an army of scientists who searched for a preventive then in one thousand nine hundred and fifty four a vaccine to prevent paralytic polio developed by dr jonas salk a grantee of the national foundation was tested in the largest field trials in medical history finally april 12th one thousand nine hundred and fifty five salk vaccine safe effective the next challenge commercial production of the polio vaccine in quantity a huge task a complex process all detailed in this book it's officially called a protocol here the manufacturer records every step in the production of one lot of vaccine the first requirement trained scientists and technicians their every action is important starting with the scrub up and the equipment they use gets it scrub up too a scalding steam bath for fifteen minutes when it comes out it's completely sterilized ready for the big job ahead vital to the production of the vaccine are monkeys from the far east given the best of care meanwhile another basic ingredient of the polio vaccine is being prepared a rich nourishing liquid called medium one hundred and ninety nine some sixty eight different elements go into medium one hundred and ninety nine each is carefully checked weighed and combined according to the formula and when all is thoroughly blended the medium's tested for absolute sterility why this elaborate preparation into medium one hundred and ninety nine will go monkey kidney tissue first carefully minced by hand in these bottles the monkey kidney tissue grows getting its nourishment from the rich medium one hundred and ninety nine for six days the bottles rock and the tissue grows then because all the nourishment in the medium is exhausted half is siphoned off to be replaced by fresh medium but with a difference the difference a big one is that here for the first time live polio virus is planted in the medium three different strains of polio virus are added the completed vaccine will protect against all three types of paralytic polio and once more the bottles rock in four days the virus so minute yet so lethal multiplies two hundred and fifty to one thousand times another stage in the complex production of vaccine has been reached the polio virus solution is ready for harvesting the endless testing has now begun a titration test it measures the amount of live virus present in the solution this test is made seven different times during production next filtration a vitally important process first the virus solution goes through these metal tubes containing porcelain filters then through sheets of asbestos to strain out all kidney tissue and remove any stray bacteria more tests rabbits are inoculated to make sure that no b virus a dangerous but nonpolio virus is in the solutions guinea pigs too receive injections to make certain that the solutions are free of tuberculosis bacilli finally the climax of production inactivation the power of the polio virus to infect man will be utterly destroyed the colorless pungent chemical formaldehyde will deal the deadly blow to the polio virus for sixty six hours in a warm incubator room the inactivation process continues then what remains can only do good provide humans with protection from paralytic polio a chapter ends the enemy of man is now ready to become his servant at every step of the way checks and doublechecks this technician is working on a tissue culture safety tests double check on the complete inactivation of the virus four such tissue culture tests are conducted on every batch of vaccine behind this door the final phase of production it calls for a giant tank into it will go the three types of inactivated polio virus solution combined here for the first time the solutions are first filtered on the way into the pooling tank and twice later additional chemicals complete and preserve the vaccine then the preparation is mixed for five hours at the end of that time the poliomyelitis vaccine is complete but testing is not two animal tests are performed one on white mice injected with vaccine is called the lcm tests and the live monkey potency test monkeys received poliomyelitis vaccine then are observed and examined to be sure the vaccine is potent enough to cause formation of polio fighting antibodies in humans more tests a sterility test the sixth of its kind is performed it takes time and infinite care only vaccine found completely free of bacteria is approved for the next step that step is putting vaccine into bottles under completely sterile conditions these are the bottle which finally will find their way to doctors offices and clinics all over the country even as they reach the end of the production line other tests are in progress and samples are sent to the government no vaccine can leave the pharmaceutical house until all tests by the manufacturer and the government are completed satisfactorily the protocol is finished then sent to the national institutes of health for government approval required by law in bethesda maryland the national institutes of health is a vast center of medical progress the main research arm of the united states public health service in the office of dr roderick murray chief of the division of biologic standards the manufacturer's protocol is first reviewed then dr murray summons two scientists from his staff each is given a copy of the protocol which he will study carefully checking every process every test for consistency at the same time another vital judgment is being made in the laboratories of the national institutes of health here a sample from every batch of vaccine is received then subjected to a whole battery of complex scientific tests a sterility test confirming those of the manufacturer is carried out a tissue culture tests on the vaccine sample again substantiating tests already made by the manufacturer living tissue is inoculated with poliomyelitis vaccine incubated then carefully examined the monkey test one of the most important tests twenty monkeys are involved in the testing of every lot of vaccine and each receives three injections from the manufacturers sample the purpose once again to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the polio vaccine these are just some of the painstaking review and testing procedures of the national institutes of health each contributing to the final judgment and recommendation on every lot of vaccine once the public health service authorizes its release the polio vaccine can begin to protect american youngsters in one thousand nine hundred and fifty five over ten million children received one or more injections of salk vaccine including this boy the president's own grandson david eisenhower and now like millions of boys and girls across the nation david too is protected against paralytic polio free to play and enjoy the delights of summertime with the president his grandfather from the united states public health service a report on these vaccinations in one thousand nine hundred and fifty five by the distinguished former surgeon general dr leonard a scheele as we enter the second year of widescale use of the salk polio vaccine it's my very pleasant duty to report to you the results of polio vaccinations today on the councilor's findings on the effectiveness of vaccine add up to good news indeed we had an especially good opportunity to study effectiveness last year here is a very simple chart which indicates how the vaccine worked during one thousand nine hundred and fifty five it is based on reports from twenty two states and new york city among vaccinated children as you can see the attack rate for paralytic polio was only sixty three per one hundred thousand while among the unvaccinated their attack rate was two hundred and ninety two for one hundred thousand almost four times as high the studies involved about eight and one half million children whose ages range from five to eleven years even though most of the vaccinated children they had only one injection instead of the full dosage of three the vaccine was found to be about seventy eight effective put in another way the boys and girls who received at least one injection of vaccine had about four times as much protection as those without it we can all be proud of the salk vaccine brought about by american scientists and american giving we can all share in the hope that this victory will lead to many more in the years ahead for a maximum protection from paralytic polio three inoculations the second given not less than two weeks after the first the third not less than seven months later your child or any member of your family eligible for polio vaccine in your community should be vaccinated now vaccination now will save lives from death or paralysis this year make use of increasing supplies of vaccine help your child grow up strong and straight free from crippling polio youngsters like david eisenhower like polio pioneer randy kerr are part of a bright new future a future which would see the unconditional surrender of infantile paralysis