Memorial to the Minister of Health
1928-11-30 1928 1920s 8 pages MEMORIAL TO THE MINISTER OF HEALTH ON THE SUBJECT OF the Report of the Committee appointed by him, in conjunction with the Medical Research Council, to investigate matters relating to Vaccination, and herein referred to as the Rolleston Committee. Presented by the Coun...
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| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| Language: | English English |
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London : National Anti-Vaccination League
30 November 1928
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/B6E3B0D3-1054-4D6D-BF70-B95D129B4618 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/F81494F8-7931-4104-8B18-044E6EC4F839 |
| Summary: | 1928-11-30
1928
1920s
8 pages
MEMORIAL TO THE MINISTER OF HEALTH ON THE SUBJECT OF the Report of the Committee appointed by him, in conjunction with the Medical Research Council, to investigate matters relating to Vaccination, and herein referred to as the Rolleston Committee. Presented by the Council of the National Anti-Vaccination League. The Council of the National Anti-Vaccination League, having carefully studied the contents of the Report above mentioned, respectfully ask the Minister of Health to consider the following critical observations thereon. In the first place we regret that the composition of the Committee should have consisted entirely of pro-vaccinist medical officials and bacteriologists, who could hardly be expected to give full weight to evidence or arguments not in accord with their own professional prepossessions. POST-VACCINAL ENCEPHALITIS. The prime object of the appointment of the Committee was, presumably, to investigate the sequel to vaccination, consisting of a type of encephalitis which began to be seriously reported in this country in 1922, and which also was reported, about the same time, on the Continent, especially in Holland. A year after the appointment of the Rolleston Committee it was revealed that you had previously appointed a Departmental Committee in November, 1923 (commonly known as the Andrewes Committee), to investigate the same matter. This Committee reported to you in May, 1925, but their Report (though sent to the League of Nations Health Committee and referred to at one of its meetings in 1926) was not made public in England until it appeared as part of the Rolleston Committee’s Report in 1928. No official explanation of this secrecy in a matter of vital importance to the public welfare has yet been offered. We gather from the two Reports that the following cases of post-vaccinal encephalitis were brought to the notice of the respective Committees :— Andrewes Committee. From November, 1922, to October, 1923: 62 cases, of which 36 were fatal, giving a fatality-rate of 58 per cent. Number vaccinated with Government lymph: 53 cases, of which 30 were fatal. Fatality-rate, 57 per cent. Another case (not fatal) occurred in February, 1924. Rolleston Committee. From May, 1925, to February, 1926: 5 cases, of which 4 were fatal. Fatality-rate, 80 per cent. Source of lymph not stated.* From April, 1926, to September, 1927: 25 cases, of which 12 were fatal. Fatality-rate, 48 per cent. Number vaccinated with Government lymph: 18 cases, of which 8 were fatal. Fatality-rate, 44 per cent. * The Minister of Health subsequently stated in Parliament (21st November, 1928) that 4 of these cases (3 fatal) had been vaccinated with Government lymph. Fatality-rate, 75 per cent.
292/840/1/13 |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |