Eye on the Needle

As he takes his inoculations on one of the armed forces' medical production lines, many a G.I. has been moved to rueful speculation: How many shots must a man get before they begin to do more harm than good? Last week an Air Force doctor provided an answer that was hardly reassuring for the needle-shy. Repeated inoculations of vaccines, reported Major Rexford Haycraft, are not organically harmful.

In a two-year study, Dr. Haycraft worked with 200 of the Strategic Air Command's most imposing physical specimens. Half, designated as controls, had been given routine inoculations--an average of 40 shots per man. The other half--the test group--had been riddled with some 70 shots per man--dosed with eleven varieties of vaccine, ranging from yellow fever to Japanese B encephalitis. Subjects in both groups were regularly examined with X rays, electrocardiograms and blood tests, and when the evidence was in, doctors discovered that neither group had suffered any ill effects.

Dr. Haycraft's findings now go to the Influenza Commission, a part of the armed forces epidemiology board. Once approved, they will almost surely mean even more shots for G.I.s. For the commission has been awaiting Dr. Haycraft's report before releasing a new influenza vaccine for use in the armed forces.

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