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
Camden 1965
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camden]
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PROPHYLAXIS
Every effort is directed towards ensuring that children are immunised against diphtheria,
tetanus, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, and smallpox by the family doctor, at one of the Council's
child welfare centres or in the schools.
Soon after the birth of a child the mother is given an immunisation record card setting out
the immunisation programme. This serves the three purposes of informing the mother about the
programme as a whole, providing a personal record of immunisations and reminding the mother of
the next appointment.
A follow-up scheme operates in which a check is made with the health visitors, at periodic
stages in the immunisation programme, that the recommended protection has been given to each
child under 5 years.
Vaccination against poliomyelitis
| Age at 31.12.65 Born in | Under 1 year 1965 | Over 1 but under 5 1961-1964 | Over 5 but under 16 1950-1960 | Total under 16 years | ||||
| Primary course | 558 | 2,644 | 452 | 3,654 | ||||
| Reinforcing doses | - | 168 | 1,961 | 2,129 | ||||
| Total | 558 | 2,812 | 2,413 | 5,783 | ||||
| Vaccination against smallpox | ||||||||
| Age at 31.12.65 Born in | Under 1 year 1965 | Over 1 but under 2 1963-1964 | Over 2 but under 5 | Over 5 but under 16 1950-1960 | Total | |||
| Primary vaccination | 84 | 1,006 | 579 | 25 | 1,694 | |||
| Re-vaccinations | - | 3 | 28 | 63 | 94 | |||
| Total | 84 | 1,009 | 607 | 88 | 1,788 | |||
B.C.G. vaccination
The routine tuberculin testing of children over 13 years of age continued, negative reactors
being offered vaccination with B.C.G. to reduce their chances of infection with tuberculosis.
1,504 children were tuberculin tested and 1,243 vaccinated.
Measles vaccination
Camden was one of the areas selected by the Medical Research Council in which to
extend their trials of measles vaccine, the trials being conducted by Dr. Miller of the Medical
Research Council and Dr. T.M. Pollock of the Public Health Laboratory Service.
The object of the 1965 scheme was to compare the vaccination reactions from two different
live vaccines (each preceded by a dose of the same killed vaccine).
Five hundred and ninety-eight children were selected for vaccination, and of these 120
were vaccinated.
The follow up of these children is in the form of an annual postal enquiry by the M.R.C.
and health visitors visit mothers who fail to reply.
The following tables give the number of children in the Borough who completed a course
of immunisation during the year, in relation to the child population.
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