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Immunisation against diphtheria has continued to be offered to
the parents of all children in the infant departments of the schools,
and to children under eight years of age in the junior departments.
This work has been in progress now for several years, and has become
part of the ordinary routine activity of the Health Department.
It is carried out for the most part in the schools, the infant and
junior departments being visited in rotation and the offer of
immunisation made to all children not already immunised. The
response varies very much from school to school, the number of
acceptances being very high in some schools and very low in others.
On the whole, however, progress is being made, and it is hoped
that as the parents realise the value of the procedure, more advantage
will be taken of the opportunity offered. As it is, there are several
of the departments in which the number of children protected is
well over fifty per cent., and experience shows that where such a
high proportion of the children attending a school is immune, there
is very little danger of diphtheria spreading.
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