POLIO VACCINATION
Sir,-My purpose in writing to The Listener was not to start a controversy, but to point out that while people are supposedly given a choice as to whether they shall have their chidren vaccinated or not, the only information being given by the Health Department is that which favours vaccination. If Dr. Turbott is not aware that very much adverse criticism of polio vaccination is taking place overseas, and that other forms of immunisation are also under fire from medical men of high standing, then it is time he extended his reading to include information other than that which fits in with his preconceived ideas, Typical of this closed attitude of mind is the way Dr. Turbott attributes the low incidence of diphtheria in Britain during the last war to immunisation. He does not mention that the number of cases of diphtheria and deaths therefrom had steadily been declining for the previous 12 years without the benefit of any therapeutic measures. Thus, it could be expected that the decline would continue, immunisation or no. (Actually. the immunisation campaign began _ towards the end of 1940, and there was an increase in cases for 1941, a decline again setting in in 1942.) That Britain escaped the Continental epidemic to a large extent could be attributed just as logically to the very high standard of nutrition enjoyed during the war. Though the food was monotonous, it was impossible to obtain the rubbish that passes for food in times of peace, and British health was of a phenomenally high standard in consequence. One point which many do not realise is that widespread immunisation usually takes place following a "scare," when the epidemic is on the wane in any case, so that the natural decline in figures is attributed quite incorrectly to immunisation. I do not wish to thrust my ideas down anybody’s throat; it is, quite truly, the right of the individual to make his or her own decision. But, in all honesty, it is the duty of the Health Department to tell the whole truth and not to turn a blind eye to anything that reflects adversely on what it is trying to promote.
MARY
STROOBANT
(Auckland).
(This correspondence is now closed.--Ed.)
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 900, 2 November 1956, Page 25
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371POLIO VACCINATION New Zealand Listener, Volume 35, Issue 900, 2 November 1956, Page 25
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