Evening star., 1962-03-31
BY WILLIAM GRIGG
Star Staff Writer

A ShNAA "ANSA
The licensing of the full Sc
ries Of the Sabin oral vaccine
gives the District Health De-
partment and the District Med
ical Society an enormously diff
ficult problem: Shall the vac
cine be used now, perhaps on
a limited scale, or shall the
city aim at the complete eradi-
cation of polio here in a full
program that might take
months to set up?
The health of hundreds is at
stake, officials are fully aware.
And each choice presents bene-
fitS-and major drawbacks.
The reason that the choice is
difficult is wrapped up in the
difference in the two vaccines,
the new Sabin and the older
Salk. The fact that Sabin is
easily administered in a sugar
lump and that Salk requires an
injection is not the most sig
nificant factor, nor is the
cheapness of the Sabin vaccine,
though these are factors to be
considered.
Physicians are even more con-
cerned by these often over
looked differences:
/. Persons must be protected
against all three strains of
polio virus. Salk combines all
three strains in each injection,
thus providing limited protec-
tion against all three strains
after even the first injection.
Sabin, however, separated the
strains into three different
doses, providing full protection
against one type of polio after
the first dose, but giving no
protection against the other
two. (These doses are given
about six weeks apart0
Carrier Factor
2. The Salk vaccine protects
the individual against polio but
does not prevent him from car
rying polio viruses and spread
ing them to others. The Sabin
vaccine, however, also prevents
the immunized person from be-
ing a carrier. 1t so toughens
the intestinal tract that a nee
essary part of the virus life
cycle is prevented. If everyone
in an isolated community re-
ceived Sabin vaccine, the polio
virus would have nowhere to
live and would be virtually
erased from the community.
8. Salk vaccine uses killed
viruSeS. Sabin uses weakened
but living viruSeS. These weak
ened, harmless viruses can be
passed on from an immunized
person to non-immuniZed per-
sons so that they catch" i'm
munity. This means that if 80
per cent of community is
immunized-all at one time
almost 100 per cent of the
community will be protected,
either by cooperating in TAX
ing the dose or by catching"
the immunity.
With these three differences
in mind, acting District Health
Director DR.. Frederick Heath
and Medical Society officials
are asking themselves: Will
crash program now be best, or
shall we wait perhaps until
winter when more vaccine will
be available and a mass pro-
gram can be organized with
great publicity.
Quantity Unknown
DR.. Heath Is currently trying
to learn from the United States
Public Health Service just how
much vaccine might be avail
able to the District. Will, for
example, the PHS make the
District a proving ground for
mass programs and thus make
it easier to get a full supply
of the vaccine?
1t might be possible to use
the new vaccine instead of Salk
in the clinics already planned
for Easter vacation week at
the Districts Junior high
schools. If this is done, persons
who get their first dose don't
come back for two more in
the next three months, they'll