The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1926-07-16
FRIDAY, JULY Is, 1926
HAVE THEM vACCINATED

HAVE THEM. VACCINATED
From State Dept. of Health.
If your small son or daughter is
going to start in on the royal road
to the three RS this fall, now is the
time to have him or her, as the case
may be, vaccinated against small
pox. That is, of course, if it has
not been done previously. Do it for
two reasons: first, and most I'M
portant, to protect the youngster
against one of the most loathsome
and disfiguring diseases known;
second, because the state law re-
.quires all children to be successfully
vaccinated against smallpox before
they can be enrolled in the schools.
This is the advice of DR.. John S.
Fulton, Director of the State De-
partment of Health.
According to estimates OF the
State, Department of Education, over
10000 children living in the coun-
ties of Maryland, will reach school
age this year, and will be eligible
for admission to the schools. Health
examinations of prospective first
graders, to find out conditions
that need attention, so that the
children may enter school with
out unnecessary physical handicaps,
were started by the Bureau OF Child
Hygiene, working in cooperation
with the Department of Education
several weeks ago.
Two out of every three children
who have been examined so far,
have never been vaccinated against
smallpox, according to preliminary
report made to Dr. Fulton by Dr..
]. H. M. Knox, Jr., Chief of the
Bureau of Child Hygiene. Out OF
1898 children from four to seven
years old, examined during the
month of June, only 342 had vacci-
nation scars The remaining 500
had never been protected against
smallpox.
These figures were taken from
reports of child health conferences
held in fifteen counties, in widely
separate places, and are therefore
regarded as typical of the entire
state 1t is accordingly estimated
that approximately 10000 OF the
prospective first graders have never
been vaccinated and therefore need
to have this done before they can be
admitted to school.
Smallpox has been kept down in
Maryland DR.. Fulton said, in COM
menting on the figures" through the
careful enforcement of our vaccl-
nation law. Within the last few
years there has been a serious flare
up of smallpox in this country and
the United States has had the un-
enviable reputation of having more
cases than have occurred in any
other part of the world with the .ex-
ception of British India, People in
this country are so accustomed tc
be kept free from devastating
epidemics that they carelessly neg
lect the means we have of protect
ing ourselves. Nothing but vaccl-
nation will prevent us from having
the kind OF outbreaks that have
terrified other parts of the country
The old fashioned family doctor used
to vaccinate the babies in the
families he attended, as matter Of
routine, before they were a veal
old. That this is no longer the CASE
is indicated by the examinations
made by the Bureau of Child
Hygiene. 1t is therefore necessar,
for the State Department of Health
to see that the law requiring children
to be vaccinated before they can be
enrolled in school, is strictly en-
forced. Accordingly, my advice to
parents whose children will enter
school this fall, is to have the
children vaccinated now and not te
wait until the school open to have II
DONE"