Medicine: Polio Decline

In the four seasons that Salk vaccine has been available, paralytic poliomyelitis has declined in the U.S. by 80%, the Department of Health, Education’ and Welfare reported last week. Though some of this dramatic decline might have been coincidental, it was attributed “in major part” to the vaccine. Paralytic cases for the first nine months of 1955 totaled 7,886; so far this year, only 1,576.

In all, 215 million doses—more than 200 tons—of this vaccine have been released. Of 67 million persons in the top priority bracket (those under 20 and pregnant women). 25 million have had the recommended three injections, 22 million have had two, and 11 million have had one; 9 million remain unvaccinated. Among the 42 million in the 20 to 40 age group, 28 million remain unvaccinated, but distributors and druggists now have 23 million shots in stock. Said HEW Secretary Marion B. Folsom: “If people will use the vaccine available, it is possible to give paralytic polio a knockout blow within the next year. It will be a tragedy if, simply because of public apathy, vaccine which might prevent paralysis or even death lies on the shelf unused.”