[Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Blackwell R.D.C.

  • Blackwell (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1956
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1956] / Medical Officer of Health, Blackwell R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    12/56 (page 10)
    are eligible have been asked to register their consent. Alas, there will not be sufficient vaccine to satisfy demand. Therefore, the Medical Research Council will select certain children (by date of birth) who will be offered vaccination. Then by comparing the number of cases in these children with those in a similar group of non vaccinated, they hope to gain some idea of the efficacy of the vaccine. I have no doubt that they will plan this with statistical thoroughness and I hope their results will be good. It seems to me that this vaccine may well be an extremely useful addition to the armamentarium of modern medicine. In face of this it may seem rather petty to carp about it. Still, I feel there are two points which must be raised. Firstly, I feel it is a great pity that we could not have had the supply equal the demand. I know the people of my district and I am very afraid that their enthusiasm will wane considerably, if they register, yet do not have their children done (this will not apply to everyone but I predict that it will to many in my districts). Also, I abhor the idea of selection in any shape or form. After all, we have a National Health Service, which is the envy of many. Therefore, as a matter of principle, it seems wrong that one should get what another can not have. Everyone is surely entitled at all times to the same benefits from a National Health Service. Secondly, I feel that a warning should have been given to parents that their children may have to be vaccinated at regular intervals. No one can forecast how long lasting will be the immunity conferred by vaccination. But, I am certain that it will not last for ever and I shall not be surprised if five years or thereabouts is the answer. There is one snag here. By and large, the older you are when you contract paralytic poliomyelitis, the more likely you are to have severe and lasting paralysis. So, it looks as though repeated courses will be necessary. This must be stressed, because I feel that any parent who refuses a second course may well have done their child more harm than good in allowing it to be vaccinated. Well, I have expressed my reservations, but I still welcome the advent of the vaccine and I do hope that it will not be long until we are able to immunise on demand (as we do now for diphtheria and whooping cough).