Expert testimony on preventive poliomyelitis vaccination; report of the scientific advisory council
Eyer, H.; Herken, H.; Horing, F.; Pette, H.; Seiffert, G.; Traub; Weber, G.
Münchener Medizinische Wochenschrift 98(14): 492-496
1956
ISSN/ISBN: 0341-3098 PMID: 13334420 Document Number: 8948
After a short survey on the elements of the vaccination method according to Salk it is stated that: 1. The extensive trials which took place in the USA in 1954 did not sufficiently prove either the effectiveness or the harmlessness of the vaccine then employed. 2. The vaccination incidents of the year 1955 cannot be exclusively traced back to the failure of a manufacturing firm. The chief cause lies in the fact that the course of, the inactivation processes are not sufficiently surveyable, and that the test methods do not completely exclude the presence of pathogenic poliomyelitis viruses in the vaccine. So far there is no proof that the sharpened manufacturing and testing regulations established in the USA since spring 1955, are enough to guarantee the absence of pathogenic viruses in the vaccines. 3. A scrutiny of the epidermic course of poliomyelitis during the years 1954 and 1955 in the USA, has revealed that it can with great probability be assumed that healthy vaccination children can to a considerable extent endanger their environs through elimination of active viruses. 4. There are as yet no reports on practical experiences with poliomyelitis vaccines made in other countries, including Germany, which allow a scientific scrutiny of the results. 5. Precautionary regulations were suggested in an official survey by the German ministry of health, which apply to the production and examination of vaccines, and to supervision of the vaccinated children. Provided that these security regulations are carried out, the danger for the individual vaccinated child and its environs is so much diminished that a prohibition of the use of these poliomyelitis vaccines, inactivated by formaldehyde seems unjustified. An absolute security guarantee can, however, not be given. The execution of necessary precautionary regulations, in particular the sufficient supervision of the vaccinated children, cannot be guaranteed in cases of mass-vaccinations. Therefore, at present mass-vaccinations are earnestly advised against.
Document emailed within 1 workday
