3
Monday, October 22, 1973
"Up till recently each child who had a diphtheria shot received
a specially wrapped sweet. These sweets were very popular with children
and took away their fear of injections, "he explained.
The spokesman said the way in which the campaign was conducted
was also unusual.
Door-to-door visits were carried out in crowded tenement
blocks, housing estates and squatter areas by inoculators and health visitors
to ensure that infants and pre-school children were immunised.
In addition, mobile inoculation teams visited schools and other
congregations of young people.
At times, medical staff and equipment were flown by helicopter
to outlying islands and inaccessible spots to make certain that infants
there were not left out of the general inoculation programme.
"There are currently 60 inoculators attached to various health offices.
They also make up mobile inoculation teams which set up temporary inoculation
posts in such places as street-corners, the spokesman said.
He emphasised that "no effort is spared to ensure that children
in every part of Hong Kong are immunised against the disease."
But despite the successful containment of siphtheria in Hong Kong,
he cautioned that there was no room for complacency or a relaxation of
continuous measures against the disease, because "any failure to take preventive
action can lead to its return."
He urged parents to get their children immunised during this year's
routine campaign now under way.
/Since these