Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-13

1 ~
presenting foets and expert opinion
about the polio vaccine, its effective
ness and sofety foetors, to bel
parents hove as much understondin!
of the tests as possible.
|
couples in Montgomery Count.
and thousands more in nearb.
Virginia decide whether thei
own children should participate
Each must decide individually.
Sometime between now ant
March 26. every Montgomer!
parent probably will get a chanc'
to attend a meeting of a loca
parent-teacher association. 4
doctor is expected to be on hant
to help answer your questions.
Details of the Virginia plaI
have not been completed.
Each child in the first thre.
grades Of 101 schools in Mont
gomery in a week or so will ge
an envelope to take home to hi
parents.
Purposes. Explained.
Inside will be a letter from
Basil O'Connor, head of the Ma.
tional Foundation for Infantilt
Paralysis, explaining the nation
wide test and its purposes. There
also will be a pamphlet designed
to answer many of your question:
and the request form.
The form explains the test
procedure and then provides:
IT hereby request that my
child be permitted to participate
in the procedures described
above without cost to me-"
If you want your child to par
ticipate you must sign the form
and return it to the school 9
few days before NEGOTIATIONS be.
gin there.
The request form covers no.
only the administering of thret
shots but also the taking of twt
blood samples.
Only 600 children in 10 un'
announced schools. however, vii
have blood samples taken.
The first samples will be taker
the week of March 10. Another
will be taken after mid-May tt
determine if the antibody levels
in the children have gone up
The antibodies are believed Il
fight off a polio attack.
Tests Begin March 20.
/ On March 90 the Rockvill,
Elementary School will get it
first shots to test the effective
ness of plans laid out by tn,
County Health Department un,
der Dr. v. L. Ellicott. The seconc
and third shots will be giver
there April 5 and May 8.
Other schools will get thei
shots as follows: first, between
April 2 and April 8; second, be
tween April 8 and Is and third
between May land Is.
A big problem nationally is tn,
production. and triple safety
testing of the vaccine. Alternat,
plans are being made in Mont
gomery in case the vaccine doe
not arrive on schedule.
Children who miss the frs
shot in their school will get nj
second chance. Makeups, how
ever. will be arranged for tn
second and third shots.
DR.. Ellicott hopes about To-
doctors-one for each school
will participate in the program
Twenty schools a day will b
scheduled for the NEGOTIATIONS.
| At least a thousand voluntee
aides will participate in the tria
vaccine tests.
BY careful organization tn
county hopes to do $50 shots /,
team in a f1ve-hour period. Tw,
teams may have to operate 81
multaneously in the large
schools.
Makeshift Clinics.
Two classes at a. time vii
await outside the makeshif
clinic rooms in the schools. Eacl
! child will be accompanied by hi
teacher when he enters the room
Accurate records will be KEEP
there to make certain he gets al
three shots from the same vial.
A nurse will prepare the nee
dies and syringeS. A voluntee
will swab the child's arm. TIL,
shot will be administered in thu
upper left arm by a doctor.
The child then will return tt
his classroom. He will have beer
in the clinic room about on,
minute.
Just in case any child becomes
upset or frightened a cot viii
be available on which he can rest
Another nurse will be on hand Il
care for him.
That's all there is to it excep
for the thousands of admins.
trative details and dozens O.
meetings planned by health de-
partment officials, volunteers
teachers. principals and doctors
No one, including the doctor o,
representatives of the health de
partment, will know whethe
your child got the vaccine or {
colored harmless liquid bein,
used as a control. The code al
ready is set up to maintain thi
secrecy and is locked in a banl
vault.
BY early June somewhere
between 100000 and a million
children throughout the countr.
are expected to have received
the vaccine or the control"
Wait and Watch.
Then it is wait and watch a
the polio toll rises slowly il
June. faster in July and mos
sharply in, August and Septem
Der. ~.
DR. Thomas Francis, jr.. re