Sabin became highly critical of O'Connor and the March of Dimes, who he believed were biased towards Salk's vaccine and made statements inconsistent with the scientific research. In the meantime, trials of the vaccine based on Sabin's version were carried out in the Soviet Union with important contributions made by Mikhail Chumakov. In 1958, the Soviet Union organized industrial production of this vaccine and polio was largely eradicated in Eastern Europe and Japan. This success led to trials in the United States as well and the licensing of Sabin's vaccine in 1961, over the considerable opposition of the March of Dimes, which supported Salk's vaccine. Eventually, Sabin's vaccine superseded Salk's vaccine based on its advantages, which included a simpler (oral) administration and lifelong immunity. Gallery Change of mission Following widespread use of the polio vaccine, the organization was faced with disbanding or steering its resources toward a new mission. Basil O'Connor, then the organization's president, directed his staff to identify strengths and weaknesses and reformulate its mission. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) shortened its name to the National Foundation (NF) in 1958 and launched its "Expanded Program" against birth defects, arthritis, and virus diseases, seeking to become a "flexible force" in the field of public health. In the mid-1960s, the organization focused its efforts on prevention of birth defects and infant mortality, which became its mission. At that time, the cause of birth defects was unknown; only the effects were visible. In 1976, the organization changed its name to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. Reducing the toll of premature birth was added as a mission objective in 2005. Initiatives after polio Rubella Rubella, also called German measles, is associated with a disorder called congenital rubella syndrome, which can cause miscarriages and birth defects such as deafness, blindness and mental retardation. Vaccination is an effective preventive measure. On behalf of the March of Dimes, Virginia Apgar testified to the United States Senate in 1969 about the importance of federal funding of a rubella immunization program, and the organization funded a vaccine, which was licensed in the early 1970s. In 2006, a statement published in Birth Defects Research Part A credited the "remarkable success of the immunization program to eliminate rubella is due to joint efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, various state and local health departments, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College