London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Lambeth 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Lambeth Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
| Under 5 years | 5 years andover, but under 15 years | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children who completed the full immunisation course between 1st January and 30th June, 1947 | 762 (929) | 128 (291) | 890 (1,220) |
| Number of children who completed the full immunisation course between 1st July and 31st December, 1947 | 1,114 (1,098) | 175 (736) | 1,289 (1,832) |
The number of children immunised, 2,179, is not sufficient to
keep the disease at bay. At least 75 per cent. of the number of
births should be treated each year and 2,179 is well under half
the number of births—5,166. Although cases of diphtheria still
occur in the district, yet no immunised child has died of diphtheria
since the clinics were started in 1928. Only pne death and that
in an infant under one month was recorded during the year.
Vaccination
For many years there has been no legal compulsion in Lambeth
and in fact vaccination has been voluntary. There has been no
case of smallpox in the district since 1934. The repeal of the
Vaccination Acts which takes effect on the 5th July, 1948, will
have no particular effect, but it seems likely that without compulsion
a larger proportion of children will be vaccinated from the
trend of inquiries and the following table.
Set out hereunder are figures relating to the years 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947 for comparison:—
| 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of births in Lambeth registered during the year | 2,581 | 2,183 | 5,467 | 6,657 |
| Total number of cases requiring the Vaccination Officers attention during the year | 4,092 | 4,011 | 7,223 | 8,868 |