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14
for by Poor Law officials is looked upon by many as a species of
Poor Law Relief. At any rate, the fact that 16,766 vaccinations
and revaccinations were performed in Providence amongst
118,070 inhabitants during the year, without a compulsory law,
is very significant. Eleven Physicians were appointed vaccinators
to make a house to house inspection, and visited nearly all the
houses except those occupied by the more wealthy classes. As all
children attending public schools must provide a certificate of
vaccination before admittance, they would not be included in
in the above mentioned number.
In continuation of the tables given in former years, I now
lay before you the following tables of the number of oases of
Small-pox amongst the vaccinated and unvacoinated in the
years 1881—1884 and 1885, which bear out to a great extent
the remarks and statistics quoted from the report of the German
Vaccination Commission. It is also especially interesting as
showing that although the number of cases reported in 1884
and 1885 were fewer than in 1881, the percentage amongst
children under 5 years of age to total cases had not diminished.
In 1881 there were 1,235 cases reported to me, as to which
information was obtained regarding vaccination and nonvaccination;
in 1884 there were 1,253 reported; and in 1885,
a much smaller number, viz., 380, making a total of 2,868
cases, of which 297, or more than 10 per cent. of the whole
were stated to have been unvaccinated. The vaccinated cases
included all stated to have been vaccinated, without reference
to the amount of protection afforded by the vaccination, and
without any personal examination of the patients.