London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hornsey 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]
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VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION
(Section 26)
Vaccination against Smallpox
The percentage of children under one year of age vaccinated
against smallpox was 13.6% compared with 54.1% in 1962. This fall
is accounted for by two factors, the first being a change in vaccination
policy whereby children are not now vaccinated until the second
year of life, and the second being a fall from the high level of
1962 which was due to anxiety occasioned by the smallpox outbreaks
in Yorkshire and South Wales. The modest success of previous
years in vaccinating even 40% of the child population under one year
of age is unlikely to be repeated in the 1-2 age group. Successful
maintenance of a high rate of infant vaccination depends on fitting
the procedure into a planned immunisation schedule in the first year
of life, when the mother is most likely to attend an infant welfare
clinic with her baby. As doubt has been cast upon the efficacy
of vaccination of infants as a means of controlling smallpox in the
general population, perhaps the low rate of infant vaccination is not
the reason for alarm. Nevertheless, great efforts are being directed
towards increasing the acceptance rate in the 1-2 years age group.
The following table records the number of persons known to have been vaccinated or re-vaccinated during the year by general practitioners and clinic medical officers.
| Under 1 year | 1 year | 2-4 years | 5-14 years | 15 yrs and over | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of primary vaccinations | 642 | 382 | 107 | 87 | 142 | 1360 |
| No. of re-vaccinations | - | 3 | 29 | 80 | 334 | 445 |
Immunisation against Diphtheria, Tetanus and Whooping
C ou gh
The following table shows the number of children receiving
primary and re-inforcing doses against these diseases. An interesting
feature emerging for the first time is the use of quadruple vaccine,
which incorporates poliomyelitis vaccine. Quadruple vaccine
became commercially available during the year and a number of general
practitioners are using it although the Ministry of Health has not yet
approved its use by local health authorities. There is little doubt
that when quadruple vaccine comes into general use the percentage
of infants immunised against all four diseases will increase by reason
of reducing the number of visits necessary to obtain complete protection
and consequently reducing the number of parents who default
before the course is finished.
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