SYNOPSIS
Until we know what the potentialities of the vaccines are, and until we learn by further field trials how best to apply the vaccines in practice so as to obtain both a high individual and a high herd immunity, there seems every reason to postpone routine immunization of children in Britain on a national scale.
TITLE
Vaccination Against Measles
CITATION
SUMMARY
An attack of measles leaves behind it immunity for life, and unless this degree of immunity, or something closely approaching it, can be reproduced by artificial means vaccination against measles may merely have the effect of postponing the disease to adult life and doing more harm than good. More information will doubtless be available when the children in the present trial have been followed up through one or two further epidemics. But until we know what the potentialities of the vaccines are, and until we learn by further field trials how best to apply the vaccines in practice so as to obtain both a high individual and a high herd immunity, there seems every reason to postpone routine immunization of children in Britain on a national scale.
