TO MAKE AVAILABLE to the health profession concise information regarding the status of inactivated and live, attenuated measles-virus vaccines and their appropriate application, an Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General was convened on Feb 25 to appraise the available data. Considerable research has been carried out by many investigators in developing and testing these vaccines. Additional studies are planned or are in progress to define and clarify many practical questions relating to their use, such as optimal immunization schedules, relative efficacy and safety, and others. The present report is an interim statement based on all of the current, available information.
A. Live, Attenuated Measles-Virus Vaccine (Edmonston Strain)
Developed in the laboratory of Dr. John Enders, this vaccine, prepared in chick-embryo tissue culture, was first tested in 1958 and since has been given to approximately 25,000 persons in the United States, either alone or in combination with gamma globulin. The