Current fallacies about vaccination : a letter to Dr. W.B. Carpenter / by P.A. Taylor.

  • Taylor, P. A. (Peter Alfred)
Date:
1881
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Current fallacies about vaccination : a letter to Dr. W.B. Carpenter / by P.A. Taylor. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    13/44 (page 11)
    and I can only account for it in this case by the inordinate appetite shown by the advocates of vaccination for statistics, however erroneous, for arguments, however illogical, and for canards however incredible, which seem to tell in favour of their pet fanaticism. It is enough to say in evidence of this, that the highest mortality in any one year in London in the last century was 8,992, whereas the deaths in London in 1871 were 7,912, and the deaths in England and Wales in the epidemic 1870-2, were 44,840. You will remember that I called your attention to this extraordinary mistake in a private letter, and ven- tured to suggest that you were hound to correct the mis- statement as publicly as it had been made; to which you replied, acknowledging the error, which you said, “ had been made on the authority of an old writer on epidemics generally “ without controversial bias.,, Of course, anyone may copy erroneous figures, but does it not show a little of the animus to which I have referred, to give such a statement ex cathedra as from one who has “ studied the medical history of the “ last century ?” I can only refer to the same animus the ex- traordinary reason you gave for not making the correction, viz., “ that though greatly over the mark as regards London, “ the statement wTas greatly under the mark as regards Paris.” I cannot but think that on any other question but vaccina- tion you would have felt bound immediately to correct so prodigious a mistake. Besides, I cannot even guess at your meaning in introducing Paris. Whether you mean that in the last century there were in Paris many six months’ small- pox epidemics carrying off more people than now ever die of small-pox in France, or whether you mean to compare the Paris mortality of last century with the present mortality in England and Wales, does not appear, and is certainly of not the slightest importance. As, however, you do mention Paris, I may just note that there died of small-pox in the thirteen months, January 1870 to 1871 inclusive, 12,042 persons; a mortality more than twice as great as occurred in the whole of the previous ten years, and there is this note* worthy fact connected with the year 1871, viz., that there was a perfect furore for vaccination and re-vaccination with