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of the Public Health department was diverted from diphtheria
immunization but during the later months of 1940 steps weije
taken to bring to the notice of the public the desirability, even the
necessity, of children being immunized against diphtheria.
After the receipt of Circular 2230 of the Ministry of Health
further steps were taken to direct the attention of the public to
this mfcans of preventing diphtheria. Posters were exhibited in
the Health Centres and in public buildings advocating immunization
and leaflets were distributed to the parents through the
Health Centres and through the. schools. At the same time the
Council withdrew a restriction which had been placed upon immunization.
Before December, 1940, immunization at the cost of the
m •
Council applied only to children whose parents' income was below
£260 per annum but this restriction was removed. The issue of
publicity material in December supported as it was-by further
publicity of a national character produced a large increase in the
number of applications for immunization.
Up to December of this year immunization was carried out
at the Health Centres to which school children and children under
5 years of age were brought by their parents. In order still further
to encourage applications for immunization it was decided to
carry out the immunization of school children at the schools with
the co-operation of the head teachers.
Each school is to be dealt with in turn, the teachers giving
leaflets advocating immunization to the children to take home and
at the same time giving them forms of application which the parents
are asked to fill up and return to the school. When a sufficient
number of applications are received a medical officer and nurse
will carry out the immunization in the schools,- the parents being
saved the trouble of attending and the school classes being disturbed
less in the process than by the children attending the Health Centre.
The immunization is carried out by the Council's own medical
officers assisted by the school nurses and is given entirely free
of cost to the parents.
Some indication of the results of this publicity may be gleaned
from the fact that during the whole of last year the immunization
of 708 children (school children and children under 5 years) was
begun, whilst since the 1st January to the 22nd March of this year