The vaccination laws : a letter addressed (by permission) to the Rt. Hon Lord Lyttelton / by T. Baker.

  • Baker, Thomas, 1819-
Date:
[1874]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The vaccination laws : a letter addressed (by permission) to the Rt. Hon Lord Lyttelton / by T. Baker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    “ caught,” as it is termed, the disease [248J ; “But,’’ he says, “ we cannot tell why one has small pox severely, and another mildly even amongst the unvaecinated.” 13. Mr. Marson affirms :—1. That it is difficult to ffet vaccination well done [239, 245, 267]. 2. That the time and state of the child is im- portarft to avoid injury (which obviously cannot be attended to under an arbitrary, compulsory law) [240], 3. That in 1815, 44 per cent, of the patients in his hospital had been vaccinated, hut in 1864, 84 per cent, had been vaccinated [242]. 4. That the most malignant type of small pox had been unusually prevalent the last six months (i.e., 1871), eighteen years after compulsory vaccination [242]. 5. That in confluent cases no one can tell whether patients had been vaccinated or not [248]. 6. That in making certain calculations as to comparative mortality, he had assumed some who had recovered “ were protected to some extent, though there was no cicatrix to show, or else they would have died at the same rate as the unvaccinated did ” [248]. 7. That out of 104 cases of corymbose small pox (one of its worst forms) in thirty years, seventy-four had been vaccinated, of whom, thirty-two died [26.5]. 8. That there was no epidemic of small pox in London, from 1796 to 1825 [266]: and that during the sixteen years, 1852-67, there were three times as many cases in his hospital as there had been from 1836 to 1851 [238]. 9. That the nurses (so often alleged to have escaped by reason of vaccination) had frequently entered as patients and afterwards stayed as nui’ses [243]. 14. Mr. Simon did not claim to have had any vaccination practice [193, 198]. 1. He could conceive nothing better than our Public National Vaccination [181]. 2. Says the experience of experts is, that the earlier years of life do not give many cases of post vaccinal small pox [185]. 3. Quotes Air. Hutchinson as a high authority that syphilis can hardly be communicated by vaccination [187, 195, 202]. 4. Quotes ravages of small pox in Holland, and assumes neglect of vaccination [164] but admits the statement is on hearsay authority [190, 199]. 5. Quotes alleged neglect of vaccination on board H.M.S. “Octavia” [174]; but is unable to account for the breach of naval regulations [190,1] although, on being prompted, he asserted the men had joined abroad (forgetting that the medical authority quoted would have committed a breach of his duty in neglecting to vaccinate any such). 6. Admits his inquiries in 1856 were addressed to hospital surgeons, &c. (who do not vaccinate) [192]. 7. States the law has fully doubled infantine vaccination [190]. 8, Treats the opinion of a physician