[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch, Parish of St. Leonard].

  • St. Leonard Shoreditch (London, England). Parish Council.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

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

Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch, Parish of St. Leonard]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: City of London, London Metropolitan Archives

    21/43 (page 22)
    22 3. I have become acquainted with serious irregularities in the mode of vaccination in a neighbouring parish, which I mention here because the subject we are discussing is of universal interest, and because neglect in one section of the community affects the safety of the rest. I am informed that there are druggists who vaccinate extensively ; and that the vaccinations, they perform, if certified at all, are certified by others who, in many instances, have no personal knowledge of the cases. In this and other ways, a vast amount of defective vaccination exists, which is the source of great danger to the community. Some machinery for ensuring re-vaccination is necessary. 4. In Ireland there is as yet no Registration Act; in Scotland the Registration Act has been only a few years in operation ; and in both these parts of the empire the provisions for extending vaccination are more defective than even in England. Owing to the continual migrations taking place between all parts of the country, un-vaccinated persons frequently settle in London. This is a source of danger against which it is very difficult to guard. These persons quite escape the ordinary provisions. As an instance I may cite a case in which the parents of a child two years old were summoned before a Justice for refusing to have it vaccinated. The Justice objected to take an information because the time (three or four months after birth) had elapsed. Inspection of Schools and other places where young people are congregated should be performed systematically. The following suggestions for securing more complete vaccination were embodied in a Special Report presented by me to your Parliamentary Committee. 1. That the Registration of the Births of all children be made compulsory. 2. That the parents or guardians of all children vaccinated by private medical attendants be made answerable for the return of a certificate of vaccination to the Registrar of the District in which the children are born.