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Ministry stated that circulars to Local Health Authorities and to Executive Councils were being
prepared and were expected to be dispatched early in 1968, and the Authority was being given
information in advance, in order that consideration might be given to the changes that would be
introduced when the schedule was adopted. The changes in the schedule, which affect the
procedures in various ways, are numerous and I expect to report further on this subject in 1968
after the circular referred to has been received from the Ministry of Health.
In his letter to the Authority regarding immunisation in childhood, the Ministry of Health
Chief Medical Officer referred to the conclusion of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and
Immunisation in 1966 that the injection of killed measles vaccine followed four weeks later by
an injection of live measles vaccine, or one injection of live measles vaccine given alone, were
effective and acceptable immunising procedures, and said that the Joint Committe, after
studying further results of the Medical Research Council's trials of measles vaccines, now
took the view that immunisation against measles was best effected by means of one dose of
live, attenuated measles virus vaccine alone. The Committee was also of the opinion that
measles vaccine should be given in the second year of life after the basic course of immunisation
against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough and Poliomyelitis.
The appropriate statistical tables are shown hereunder:
Immunisation of Persons under the age of 16 completed during 1967