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54
It will be seen from the table above that the results of the immunisation campaign
have been dramatic. Instead of 700 notifications per year there are now less than
100, and instead of 20-30 deaths per year there has only been one death in the last
two years. Since immunisation began in Islington not a single child in the thousands
who have been immunised, has died of diphtheria. A very small number have
contracted diphtheria, but usually this has occurred some considerable time after
immunisation and the disease has been in a mild form and has never taken a fatal
form. Over 1,000 children have attended the mobile clinic each year.
It can be said that taking the type of population and the size of the Borough into
account, Islington's immunisation campaign has been one of the most successful
in London.
Islington is still the only Borough which is conducting a mobile clinic campaign
during the summer, and it is a matter of some sentimental regret that the mobile
clinic trailer is being transferred to the London County Council although, of course,
there is every hope that the London County Council will continue to hold this clinic.
The London County Council have, for some years now, agreed to all immunisation
work, both in school and for the under 5's, being co-ordinated under the Medical
Officer of Health, which is not the case in every London Borough. It is felt that this
unified campaign for children of all ages in this Borough has contributed materially
to the success of the Islington campaign.
During the last few years Dr. M. J. Fenton and Dr. H. Clyne have conducted
the greater part of the clinics under the direction of the Medical Officer of Health.
It is understood that their services are being retained by the London County Council.
I would desire to thank not only the medical staff who have taken the clinics,
but also those health visitors who have attended, and the immunisation clerks who
have been most enthusiastic about the campaign, and apart from the clerical work
have made the detailed arrangements for the many thousands of clinic sessions which
have been held over the last few years and which have been arranged not only under
the direct auspices of the Borough Council, but also by the Borough Council in London
County Council school premises.
I should also like to thank the London County Council, and in particular, the
Divisional Education Officer, and the head teachers of the schools in Islington who
have co-operated in the most willing and enthusiastic manner to achieve the very
successful results given above.