Vaccination by Mouth?

In the race to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis, two rivals were front-runners : the University of Pittsburgh's Dr. Jonas E. Salk (TIME, March 29, 1954) and the University of Cincinnati's Dr. Albert B. Sabin. Dr. Salk won with a vaccine made of virus that is at first virulent (capable of causing severe disease) but is then killed with formaldehyde. This vaccine has to be injected in three spaced doses.

Last week Dr. Sabin (TIME, May 23, 1955) announced that he was ready to start wider-scale field trials with a vaccine that is in almost every respect the opposite to Salk's. It is made from "attenuated" virus--particles incapable of producing paralysis but strong enough to stimulate immunizing antibodies. This virus is used live. It is given by mouth in a single dose. Dr. Sabin has already tried it on 130 prisoner-volunteers, needs thousands of subjects for fuller proof of its safety and efficacy.

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