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
Leyton 1942
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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1942. The figures refer only to children who have finished—or failed to complete—the full course of innoculations during the year. Children who had commenced—but had not yet completed—the course at the end of the year will be shown in the report for next year.
| Under 2 yrs. | 2-5 years. | 6-10 years. | 10-15 years. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children who attended for immunisation | 294 | 688 | 676 | 153 | 1,811 |
| who completed course | 289 | 663 | 656 | 145 | 1,753 |
| immune after 2 injections | 287 | 645 | 640 | 139 | 1,711 |
| immune after 3 injections | 1 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| immune after 4 injections | 1 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 18 |
| Removed from district | 3 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 23 |
| Failed to attend for Final Schick Test | 2 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 22 |
| ,, „ after 1 injection | — | 6 | 6 | 1 | 13 |
| Total number of Attendances during 1942 | 1,013 | 2,762 | 2,666 | 598 | 7,039 |
A record number of children completed the course of immunisation
against diphtheria during the year. The total of 1,753
completed cases exceeded the previous maximum in 1936 by 485
cases. In addition to this, the number in course of treatment at
31st December was larger than in any previous year.
The proportion of children under five years in 1936 was 21 per
cent., while in 1942 it rose to 54 per cent. This increase in immunisation
of pre-school children is very gratifying as diphtheria
is very fatal among them and it is highly desirable that preventive
treatment should be given at or as soon as possible after the child's
first birthday.
Report by Dr. J. L. Rennie—Deputy Medical Officer of
Health.
In 1940, 1,353 births were registered in Leyton. The corresponding
figure for 1941 was 1,129. It will be noted, however, that
in 1941 only 433 children under five years were immunised and in
1942 952 (289 being under two years). These figures show
clearly that there is still a large number of young children unprotected
against diphtheria.
The increase in the immunisation of young children has been
brought about partly by the propaganda of the Ministry of Health,
National broadcasts by Medical Officers were always followed by an
increase in the number of applications for immunisation. The
untiring efforts of Health Visitors and School Nurses in this