Evening star., 1955-05-29

Cdr1u, IuDdr ana d new type
called hewfu.
Q SNAFU. Situation normal, all
fouled up" describes the incubation
program since it started in April.
The public was confused by series
of official statements to the effect
that the vaccine was safe, but that
the public couldn't have any.
Most vaccine was held in the
manufacturers laboratories for fur
ther checks. though reading of public
announcements indicated nothing
was wrong with the shots; some
thing might be wrong; the doctors
involved didn't know if anything
was wrong. Meanwhile, SO cases of
polio developed among 100000 per-
sons shot with Cutter Laboratories
vaccine.
. TARFU. Last week the program
went through a phase described as
things are really fouled up" Poll
tics and personalities were dragged
into the controversy. Basil O'Con-
nor, president of the National
Foundation for mfantile Paralysis,
said pointedly in a speech that be-
fore the Public Health Service took
the polio program over there was
"some intelligence, Intellectual in
tegrity and total courage-and {.
no politics whatsoever"
He declined to elaborate on the
politics" charge except to say, now
we have national and State politics
all over the country" But ne did
wire DR.. Leonard A. Scheele, Sur
geon General of the Public Health
Service, to demand that a long
delayed report on the Cutter vac
cine be made public.
Then Representative Arthur G.
Klein, D ocrat, of New York,
limited broadly that Vice President
Nixon had intervened to insure Pub
lie Health Service licensing of the
Cutter vaccine.
And. DR.. Jonas Salk, developer of
the vaccine, and DR.. Scheele ap-
parently started a "not-speaking"
feud.
Later the picture changed. Mr..
O'Connor and DR.. Salk again be-
came public pals with DR.. Scheele,
and Representative Klein conceded
that his charges were based only on
rumor.
. FUBAR. Things were "fouled up
beyond all recognition" when new
testing standards for polio vaccine
were announced by the Health
Service. Manufacturers refused to
accept the new standards. saying
they were "unrealiStic," ''impracti-
cal' and unnecessary. The tests
would waste time, but produce no
better vaccine, manufacturers said.
Suddenly, the next day, five of the
six licensed manufacturers accepted
the new standards with show of
enthusiasm. In fact, it turned out
there really weren't any ned stand
ards after all.
A spokesman for Eli Lilly Com
pany said it was only a matter of
re-interpretation of the old rules
And DR.. Salk said the tchanges
really were not new Standards" but
only like reading the fine print in
a life insurance policy"
Actually, the new standards mostly
involved longer cooking" of the vac
cine.
So manufacture apparently will 60
ahead. The outlook, subject to snafu
without notice, is for completion of
two of the three shots for all 5
through 8 year olds before the late
August peak of the polio season.
Q HEWFU. Was all the trouble
caused by Health, Education and
Welfare foul up?" Democrats
thought so. President Eisenhower
thought not.
But Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby re-
ceived more and more criticism for
not anticipating the unfulflllable
public demand for immediate polio
shots and for not preparing a pro-
gram to meet that demand. Health.
Education and Welfare also was
criticized for its information service.
There were two indications last
week that an end to the hewfu might
be in sight. A new top-f1ight radio
and television man was brought into
the information set-up. And Mrs.
Hobby herself was reported to be on
the verge Of resigning. Her husband
has been seriously Ill for some time.