[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles District].

  • St. Giles (London, England). District Council.
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Giles District]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/34 page 19
    19 The quality of the vaccine scars was noted in 1876 of the children. The subjoined figures show the number of children that bore scars of the number and kind indicated: Vaccine Marks. Good. Tolerable. Bad. Four or mora 395 104 63 Three 355 89 53 Two 287 89 49 One 185 59 36 Proof has been repeatedly given, of the most extended and indisputable kind, that the protective value of vaccination is greater according as the scars left by the operation are numerous and well marked. Not half the vaccinated children examined in the St. Giles's schools can be considered to have received all the protection against small-pox that vaccination is capable of affording. This is an important fact to which public attention should be directed. Parents should know that the kind of vaccination that produces no constitu tional and hardly any local effect is very likely to leave their children susceptible to an attack of small-pox. At the time of inspection, those children whose vaccine scars were very imperfect were urged to have the operation repeated. Hand bills were circu lated through the district, with the authority of the Board of Works, giving information about the outbreak of small-pox, and urging revaccination as well as primary vaccination for those who required it. GEORGE BUCHANAN, M.D. 75, Gower Street. June, 1864.
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