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
London County Council 1962
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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In previous years this analysis has been made on the basis of two injections of Salk
vaccine and calculated in this way the incidence rate in 1961 in the unvaccinated children
was about 18 times that in the vaccinated. With the introduction of oral vaccine in early
1962 (a complete course of which comprises three doses) it is reasonable to equate three
doses with three injections of Salk vaccine and recalculation of the figures for previous
years (since three injections assumed worthwhile proportions) gives the following:
Table (iv)—
| Year | Per cent. of population 6 months-14 years vaccinated (3 injections or 3 doses) | Case rates per million at risk | Ratio NOT vaccinated/ vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOT vaccinated | Vaccinated | |||
| 1960 | 49 | 128 | 6 | 21:1 |
| 1961 | 56 | 74 | NIL | 8 |
| 1962 | 70 | 50 | NIL | 8 |
The last column shows that the average degree of resistance of the immunised population
has become substantially greater since the introduction of third injections/doses in quantity
and that the unvaccinated population has also benefited from the general lowering of the
incidence of the disease, which was the purpose of the introduction of vaccination.
A similar analysis of the differential incidence rates between the vaccinated and unvaccinated
in the older age groups cannot be made with any degree of reasonable accuracy
because the number of cases of poliomyelitis is so small and because of the difficulty in
arriving at an estimate of the exposed-to-risk population of vaccinated persons with so
many Londoners vaccinated elsewhere.
Smallpox— There was one case of smallpox in Woolwich. The origin of this infection
was not determined and no secondary cases arose. In spite of the advice of the medical
officers of health that mass vaccination was inadvisable and unnecessary, large numbers of
persons presented themselves for vaccination (see page 63).
Whooping cough— Notifications numbered 619, a new low record. There were two
deaths in the year from whooping cough.
18