Vaccine Protection

With polio on the rise and proportionately more paralytic cases in 1959 than in any year since vaccinations became general, the National Foundation determined to nail down the vaccine's effectiveness. Last week it announced the encouraging results of a check on the year's first 624 cases in which detailed vaccination histories were available. Of the 4.9 million children under five (the most susceptible age group) who had received no Salk shots, 298 got paralytic polio, for a rate of 6 per 100,000. Of the 10.4 million who had had three or more shots, only 52 got paralytic polio, for a rate of .5 per 100,000 cases. The ratio was almost identical in the next most vulnerable group, aged 5 to 19: of 6.1 million unvaccinated, 185 got paralytic polio, for a rate of 3 per 100,000; the rate was only .25 per 100,000 for the 89 cases among the 36.2 million youngsters who had taken the full Salk course.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.