“Developed German Measles Vaccine" Harry Meyer Jr Hand Written letter 3X5 Card For Sale
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“Developed German Measles Vaccine" Harry Meyer Jr Hand Written letter 3X5 Card:
$699.99
Up for sale "German Measles" Harry Meyer Jr Hand Written letter on 3X5 Card.
ES-4796
Harry M. Meyer Jr., 72, a co-developer of the first safe and
effective vaccine against German measles who later retired as head of drug
regulation at the Food and Drug Administration, died of lymphoma Aug. 19 at the
Kenmore, Wash., home of a stepson. Dr. Meyer and a colleague at the National
Institutes of Health, Dr. Paul Parkman, reported success in 1966 with the first
inexpensive vaccine offering long-lasting protection against rubella and the
first test to measure rubella immunity. Women who contract the viral disease
during the first three months of pregnancy risk birth defects or death for
their babies. Dr. Meyer's work was spurred by a 1964 epidemic of German measles
that led to an estimated 12.5 million cases in the United States and birth
defects in about 20,000 children. By 1988, the number of reported cases dropped
to 225; there has been no big epidemic in the country since creation of the
vaccine and a later, more potent, vaccine. While serving as chief
of the laboratory of viral immunology at NIH, Dr. Meyer also headed a team in
1961 that carried out successful clinical trials in Africa of a vaccine for red
measles, or rubeola, developed by Nobel laureate Dr. John F. Enders. That
trial, involving eight West African nations and more than a million children,
demonstrated the practicality of administering vaccines in remote areas using
the then-experimental jet injection gun. In 1966, Dr. Meyer went on a health
care fact-finding mission to Vietnam with President Lyndon B. Johnson's
secretary of health, education and welfare, John W. Gardner. He traveled the
country in a small plane, visiting with local elders and health care
professionals. When NIH's division of biologic standards was transferred in
1972 to the FDA and renamed the bureau of biologics, Dr. Meyer was named its
first director and later directed the FDA's Center for Drugs and Biologics. He
was responsible for oversight on all experimental work on vaccines -- including
hepatitis, pneumonia, meningitis and whooping cough -- and pharmaceuticals and
approval for new medicines. He instituted independent panels to review drug
labeling and manufacturers' claims for vaccines and allergens and blood
products, and served on expert committees of the World Health Organization. He
was also a member of a federal AIDS task force during the first five years of
that epidemic. Dr. Meyer retired in 1986 as assistant surgeon general, with the
rank of rear admiral in the Public Health Service. Until 1993, he was president
of the medical research division of American Cyanamid Co. in New York,
directing development of pharmaceuticals. Dr. Meyer, who was known as Hank, was
a native of Palestine, Tex., and a graduate of Hendrix College in Arkansas. It
later granted him an honorary doctorate. He received his medical degree from
the University of Arkansas and did a residency in pediatrics at the University
of North Carolina. He served in the Army, interning at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center and working at its Institute of Research as a virologist. His work
included the first clinical trial of a smallpox vaccine administered with the
jet injector, a device that later helped eradicate the disease. He also worked
at Walter Reed on isolation of the Asian influenza virus. He joined NIH in 1959
as head of the virus research section in the division of biologics standards. Dr.
Meyer wrote 105 articles and textbook chapters and held patents derived from
his research. His honors included Meritorious and Distinguished Service medals
of the Public Health Service and awards from national medical societies,
colleges and other organizations. He was a fellow of the American Academy of
Pediatrics and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and other national pediatric, epidemiologic, research and medical
organizations.

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