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AU Bernstein, 56.
TI The Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign of 1976:

and the Public

Politi

SO CONGRESS & THE PRESIDENCY V10,
YR Spring

Thank you.

Barton J.
cs, Science:

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cal research has a tesponsi-
bility to perfect its tools to
a higher standard, even while
the best ones availabie are
distributed as widely as pussi-
ble.

Wheie vaccination is leza!l-
ly compulsory, as it is against
smallpox; or virtually so, as
against polio, we can observe
an interesting question of
social policy. When a@ large
fraction of the population is
already vaccinated, the chain
of Infection is broken—with
great benefit to unvaccinated
People as® well. If one in-
dividual then refuses vaccina-
tion, he no longer exposes
himself to very great risk,
but is exploiting his fellow
citizens who have taken the
trouble to be iminunized.

Some individuals may have
their own reasons to refuse
to participate in this kind of
social insurance: and if so,
it might be perfeetly reason.
able to impose a special tax
asan alternative contribution
to the general welfare.

ane tdihe Strains used for

Sabin vaceine have been se-
lected empirically for having
lost this propensity to travel,
but we know nothing about
the biacghemical basis of the
Viruses’ tastes for one tissue
Versus another,

We are in a very poor po-
sition t) predict what migit
happen tu reawaken a virus’s
appetite for brain.

However, we are beginning
to understand dimly some of
the ways in which virus genes
interact with those of host
cells, which is obviously fun.
damental to eventual know!
edge of these relationships.
We also Know that viruses
of different strains can inter.
act with one another and pio-
duce new strains, This opens
the possibility thal harmless
strains could cross-breed and
prolitece prozeny,
This kind of result is easily
demonstrated in the labora.
tory.

Virulent

CC 24/57

a9 e@uuuse Mun UWiL LU Le Sti
eral publie.

ALTHOUGH we should be
avidly secking new knowt-
edge, there is a great deal
we do know that is not now
applied in practical vaccine
production. We know how to
purify viruses as chemical
entities: Dut most vaccines
are crude products harvested
directly froca infected cut:
tures. For example, there is
ho regulation that a vaccine
be examined under an elec.
tron microscope for uniform.
ity of its virus particles, or
that it be analyzed for its
nucleie acid composition or
for the molecular weight of
its particles. The routine ap-
plication of similar tech-
niques would have led to a
much earlier detection of the
SV-40 contamination of polio
vaccines.

Cost is the main excuse for
neglect. But cheap vaccines

—_

Dr. Joshua Lederberg

4 The Rockefeller University
1230 York Avenue
New York, New York 10021-6390

AL - 6 (983