Deputation to the Minister of Health
1929 1920s 12 pages THE VACCINATION INQUIRER - (Supplement) August that that was the only cause of their death, the persons they examined having been entirely healthy until they were vaccinated. The Andrewes Committee reported 62 such cases, of which 36 were fatal. Government lymph was used in 53 of...
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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
1929?
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/56323D62-ABC4-44F7-99E7-79FC46946050 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/DCFBFFE5-7ED1-4499-9A07-2F0006C4717B |
| Summary: | 1929
1920s
12 pages
THE VACCINATION INQUIRER - (Supplement) August that that was the only cause of their death, the persons they examined having been entirely healthy until they were vaccinated. The Andrewes Committee reported 62 such cases, of which 36 were fatal. Government lymph was used in 53 of these cases, of which 30 were fatal. The Rolleston Committee mentioned another 30 cases, of which 16 were fatal. Government lymph was used in 18 cases, eight being fatal. These 92 cases are probably only a minute fraction of the cases that occurred. Medical men habitually omit vaccination from the death certificate, probably the cases were 100 for every one recorded, making 9,200 cases and deaths about 2,000, which is about the usual proportion of deaths to cases of Encephalitis. The League of Nations in its report dated August, 1928, mentions that in Holland there were known to be 139 cases and 41 deaths. The Dutch Government, therefore, stopped vaccination, beginning with January, 1928. The least the British Government can do is to follow their example. But the Rolleston Committee advises that the present method of vaccination should stop. Instead of four big marks, only one little mark ; instead of the vaccine matter now used, there should be a diluted vaccine. Thus the third and last method of smallpox prophylaxis is condemned. These suggested methods have been strongly condemned in previous years. The Metropolitan Asylums Board made very careful reports dealing with the epidemic of 1901 and 1902. In its report for the year 1902, it says the smallpox patients numbered 9,659, and the deaths were 1,629. Seventy per cent. of the patients had been vaccinated before they were attacked by smallpox. Every patient was vaccinated in the hospital, which caused a high death rate. They classified the deaths, and stated that of those whose vaccination marks were half a square inch or more, only 7 per cent. died, whereas those where the area of the vaccination marks were too small to record, 38 per cent. died, showing that, in their opinion, it was only vaccination with large marks that was any use, therefore the proposed method of the Rolleston Committee has been condemned in advance by the doctors of the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The Rolleston Committee also recommends further experiments on animals. Sir Humphry Rolleston and his committee, therefore, admit that they do not know exactly how vaccination should be done; whilst they condemn the present method. It is, therefore, evident that the vaccination law should be repealed without delay, and the Ministry should immediately advise all Medical Officers of Health not to advocate vaccination, and all vaccination officers not to prosecute anti-vaccinators. At the present time, there is no real smallpox in the country. The doctors notify smallpox at 2s. 6d. a head to please the Ministry of Health. It is impossible to say whether a mild case of pimples is smallpox, chickenpox or neither, but the Ministry of Health has decided that, if the case has not been vaccinated, then it is smallpox. In that way, the Ministry of Health has carefully provided an annual crop of smallpox cases, so creating scares and promoting vaccination. This has given this country a bad name in Europe and America, has scared away tourists from our hotels, and damaged our trade and shipping and reputation ; whereas, thanks to our sanitary engineers, England is the healthiest country in the world, and has practically no smallpox. This is partly due to the Engineering Department of the Ministry of Health, which has helped sanitation, and so assisted in reducing the death-rate from all causes in the period of 1875 to one-half in the period 50 years later of 1925. The absolute absurdity of the Vaccination Law is proved by one single fact. Vaccination has been practised now for 130 years, and no advocate of vaccination knows for how long the process protects. Jenner said, once vaccinated protected for life, for which statement he got £30,000 from Parliament. It was very soon discovered that this statement was not true. Dr. McVail told the President of the Local Government Board that primary vaccination was in effect little better than a farce and a deception, and the President agreed with him. Dr. McVail wanted a law making re-vaccination compulsory. Since then, other doctors make various statements. Some say that vaccination protects for five years, others seven years, others ten years. The Japanese Government says that people are to be re-vaccinated every five years. The Rolleston Committee advises infant vaccination, re-vaccination at school age, second re-vaccination at the end of school age, and then its courage ceases, and it does not say how many re-vaccinations are to be continued through life, but no Government has adopted compulsory re-vaccination in this country, and we may be sure no Government ever will. So, upon these statements alone the Vaccination Law is condemned, but these remarks have not reached the height of the absurdity. In this country in every smallpox hospital the nurses are required to be re-vaccinated every six months. That shows that wherever there is a possibility of contact with infection, the medical men consider that the protection only endures for six months, so that the duration of protection for five years is on the assumption that there will
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