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 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Leyton]
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PERCENTAGE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IMMUNISED.
| Entrants | Second Age Group | Third Age Group | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. Exmd. | No. Immunised | % | No. Exmd. | No. Immunised | No. Exmd. | No. Immunised | % | ||
| 1945 | 693 | 487 | 70.2 | 965 | 779 | 80.7 | 743 | 561 | 75.5 |
| 1946 | 1,240 | 919 | 74.1 | 1,191 | 889 | 74.6 | 913 | 634 | 69.4 |
| 1947 | 2,465 | 1,866 | 75.7 | 994 | 834 | 83.9 | 208 | 121 | 58.1 |
| 1948 | 1,200 | 914 | 76.1 | 1,062 | 879 | 82.7 | 1,018 | 752 | 73.8 |
| 1949 | 773 | 594 | 76.3 | 1,041 | 835 | 80.0 | 1,117 | 815 | 72.9 |
| 1950 | 1.405 | 1,061 | 75.5 | 1.237 | 951 | 76.0 | 1,079 | 880 | 81.5 |
| 1951 | 1,460 | 1,108 | 75.9 | 968 | 747 | 77.2 | 1,065 | 822 | 77.2 |
| 1952 | 1,939 | 1,492 | 76.9 | 855 | 696 | 81.4 | 1,123 | 919 | 81.8 |
| 1953 | 1,680 | 1,438 | 85.59 | 1,271 | 1,019 | 80.2 | 1,587 | 829 | 76.3 |
| 1954 | 1,298 | 1,015 | 77.7 | 1,127 | 915 | 81.1 | 1,365 | 1,113 | 81.5 |
Arrangements for public whooping cough immunisation in the area were put into operation on 10th September, 1951 , and the following table gives the available information regarding the number and age groups of the children who were immunised during 1954.
| Age at time of final injection | Children who completed a full course under the County Scheme | Records of combined diphtheria-pertussis immunisations received | |
|---|---|---|---|
| By General Practitioners | By County Staff | ||
| Under 6 months | 5 | 8 | 5 |
| 6-12 months | 84 | 355 | 115 |
| 1 year | 33 | 155 | 54 |
| 2-4 years | 25 | 62 | 15 |
| 5 years and over | 8 | 45 | 4 |
| Total (primary courses) | 155 | 625 | 193 |
| Reinforcing injections | 7 | 1 | 13 |
The protection is conferred by three injections of whooping cough
vaccine at intervals of four weeks. Because the period of highest mortality
from whooping cough is during the first six months of life it is recommended
that immunisation should be begun as early as possible, even at as young an
age as two months.
PROTECTION AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS BY B.C.G. VACCINE
In my Annual Report for 1952 I submitted a comprehensive report
on " Protection against Tuberculosis by B.C.G. Vaccine." At the end of
that report I outlined the steps taken to obtain the approval of the Ministry
of Health for B.C.G. vaccination being undertaken in Leyton by Dr. Ethel
Emslie, Assistant County Medical Officer of Health owing to the fact that
the then Chest Physician was not prepared to undertake the work.