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Show POLIO VACCINE ANSWER SCHEDULED THIS SPRING The annual March of Dimes opened this week with a sober note of caution from Basil O'Connor, president of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Pointing out that "we still do not know if the trial polio vaccine has prevented one case of paralytic polio," Mr. O'Connor stated that "this factor, plus the large number of patients still needing help, means that fighting polio is a bigger job now." "I know that parents are anxiously waiting for the answer," Mr. O'Connor said. "The scientific evaluation of the vaccine developed by Dr. Jonas E. Salk is a time- J consuming and precise job involving detailed records on 1,830,000 children who either were vaccinated or are acting act-ing as controls." The Poliomyelitis Vaccine Evaluation Center at the University Uni-versity of Michigan is now studying data on children in 14,000 schools in the 217 study areas. 27 Laboratories at Work Twenty-seven laboratories are processing and testing some 40,000 blood samples taken from participating children to determine deter-mine the amount of protective antibodies against polio present in their bloodstreams. j Before the Evaluation Center can put the jigsaw pieces of information together and arrive at an answer, all data must be entered on the children's coded record cards, then analyzed. This process cannot be hurried, Mr. O'Connor said. ! What if the evaluation report proves the vaccine to be effective? effec-tive? The National Foundation already al-ready has taken a calculated financial risk by obligating $9,-000,000 $9,-000,000 in 1955 March of Dimes funds for the manufacture, this winter, of additional vaccine. This was done so that enough of it to vaccinate 9,000,000 persons per-sons will be ready in the spring without charge for the product. The purpose was to make some ' vaccine available immediately, if licensed, and to keep manufacturing manu-facturing facilities tooled up for continued production. If the vaccine evaluation report re-port is negative or inconclusive, March of Dimes-financed vac-Jcine vac-Jcine research will be intensi-ified. intensi-ified. The National Foundation I research program has not been i halted during the evaluation. t. . ." pSclvW ! . EVAtOAWH NTe0R ' '' ' Ta3 VETERAN WUO ' EXPERT TOPAY IS J'A) 1 - '. EVALUATING PATA FOR j f InJJ L . 1 '""! W55 REPORT TO AJ. 11 JJJL i 1 ANS'AGR THE QUESTION: f JI I1 TfY , i -VAceins prevent ydhAk ' ?. ( A WUMWTfC polio? zt - vjf' f A I 7""7 ' ALL OVER THE . - J lU ' ' f : i NATION, PAVANP N1SHT, I COV .V,Vt -( SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, JJf : . f -j REPORTS POUR IN on Jfev;55fC' I s - ?A ' ' 4 THE 1,630,000 CHILDREN .31 K-'JH ' A A 'S.' . . i WHO WERE PART OF THE - I hT- i 4t ; . v TRIALS-PR. FRANCIS IS J ifji Uh i 41 J .!.. L 5 COWDUCTINS THE BISSEST e&V'' j I ' . STUDY OF ITS KIND IM WjLA' '$"A i HISTORY-HE IS BACKED V X ..; ! ,. . , ' ...... ;.aH jr. - 1 BYA6RANT FROM NATION- "''--v I AL FOUNDATION FOR JL V " -' FOR JUST ONE PHASE OF INFANTILE PARALYSIS. T-Ss"l THE EVALUATION, REPORTS ' - I X COME FROM 2,000,000 at ' TEST TUBES. AJ W - -J.- H,000,O0O facts I -li1 "Wl S'Zx - FROM TONS OF RECORDS Vl Mxi. '' ARE BEINe POURED IWTO V ykiVfj L. f 7yii: - COMPUTING MACHINES . - EVLUATIOH, IB v A 150-MAN STAFF WORKS HECENTER 19 A BUILDIN3 FORMERLY' "ROUND-THE-CLOCK. ..CENSUS A MATERNITY HOSPITAL... FWAi. BUREAU EXPERTS ARE HELPING Fl&URES WILL BE ASSEMBLED IN THB FORMER DELIVERY ROOM. JOIN MARCH OF DMES JANUARY 3 TO 3 |