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THE HEALTH OF BARKING
Why have diphtheria when prevention is so safe and easy ?
every 30 deaths, 29 were of unimmunised children, although the total populations
of immunised and non-immunised children at risk were roughly equal. The
evidence that immunisation is a protection against infection and death is plain."*
The first aim was to protect school children but now activity has been switched
to immunsing children under the age of 1 year. There is yet much work to be
done and much prejudice to be overcome.
Out of a population of 18,280 children, under the age of 15 years, in the
Borough, 12,377 or 67.7% had been immunised at the end of 1946. Naturally
few of the 1,591 children born during the year were immunised as most of them were
not sufficiently old by the end of the year to have completed the injections. Thus a
higher percentage of children at the most vulnerable ages were protected than
appears superficially.
*0n the State of the Public Health during Six Years of War.—His Majesty's Stationery
Office.
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