The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

Independent research. Not affiliated with any government, agency, or company.

Exhibit 008

Placebo-controlled trials in the vaccine record

Exhibit 008 ยท Journalism citing trial record

Placebo-controlled trials in the vaccine record

The polio vaccine field trials of 1954 included more than 600,000 children randomly assigned to get either the new vaccine or a placebo.

Science News, citing Susan Ellenberg, reports that the 1954 polio vaccine field trials included more than 600,000 children randomly assigned to receive either the new vaccine or a placebo. The article names polio, measles and chickenpox as childhood vaccines tested against placebos and says HPV vaccines were compared with hepatitis vaccines, an active control.

Source
Science News (with Paul Offit and Susan Ellenberg)
Date
2025
Quoted from
Article of 14 May 2025, near the end of the section on the history of placebo trials (Susan Ellenberg)
Grade
Reported
Document
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/hhs-cdc-fda-vaccine-test-placebo-safety
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

No published finding cites this exhibit.