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
Tottenham 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Tottenham]
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55
VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION
(Section 26)
Vaccination against Smallpox
The percentage of children under one year of age vaccinated against smallpox was
13.6% compared with 54.1% in 1962. This fall is accounted for by two factors, the
first being a change in vaccination policy whereby children are not now vaccinated
until the second year of life, and the second being a fall from the high level of 1962
which was due to anxiety occasioned by the smallpox outbreaks in Yorkshire and South
Wales. The modest success of previous years in vaccinating even 4-0% of the child
population under one year of age is unlikely to be repeated in the 1-2 age group.
Successful maintenance of a high rate of infant vaccination depends on fitting the
procedure into a planned immunisation schedule in the first year of life, when the
mother is most likely to attend an infant welfare clinic with her baby. As doubt has
been cast upon the efficacy of vaccination of infants as a means of controlling
smallpox in the general population, perhaps the low rate of infant vaccination is not
the reason for alarm. Nevertheless, great efforts are being directed towards
increasing the acceptance rate in the 1-2 years age group.
The following table records the number of persons known to have been vaccinated or re-vaccinated during the year by general practitioners and clinic medical officers.
| Under 1 year | 1 year | 2-4 years | 5-14 years | 15 years and over | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of primary vaccinations | 642 | 382 | 107 | 87 | 142 | 1360 |
| Number of re-vaccinations | - | 3 | 29 | 80 | 334 | 445 |
Immunisation against Diphtheria, Tetanus and Whooping Cough
The following table shows the number of children receiving primary and re-inforcing
doses against these diseases. An interesting feature emerging for the first time is
the use of quadruple vaccine, which incorporates poliomyelitis vaccine. Quadruple
vaccine became commercially available during the year and a number of general practitioners
are using it although the Ministry of Health has not yet approved its use by local
health authorities.
There is little doubt that when quadruple vaccine comes into
general use the percentage of infants immunised against all four diseases will increase
by reason of reducing the number of visits necessary to obtain complete protection
and consequently reducing the number of parents who default before the course is
finished.