PhD Thesis - ResearchSpace@Auckland - The University of Auckland

campaign. The Health Department’s intention was to ‘eventually vaccinate every
tuberculin negative individual in New Zealand under the age of 35 years’. 162 A pilot
scheme was introduced in several post-primary schools in Wellington ‘in order that
any administrative difficulties attendant to a mass vaccination scheme may be solved’
with approximately 80 per cent of parents accepting the procedure for their
children. 163 Of the 1572 children who were tested, 1322 were found to be tuberculin
negative and were vaccinated. 164 Cabinet approval for the BCG vaccination scheme
had been granted in February 1951 and post-primary children were to be given first
priority as ‘an easily accessible group approaching young adult life on whom mass
vaccination technique and assembly of records can be standardised’. 165 New Zealand
was in line with Britain, Australia and parts of Canada in introducing BCG for
schoolchildren at the beginning of 1950s.
The administration of BCG in schools was more formalised than the other
immunisation programmes carried out in schools, such as diphtheria. Medical
Officers of Health were responsible for the vaccination programme in their areas and
were to approach headteachers of post-primary schools and other organisations to
make arrangements for the School Medical Service to administer BCG at the school.
The vaccination team consisted of an ‘approved vaccinator’, often the School Medical
Officer, two registered nurses and a clerk who kept the records. Each pupil whose
parents consented was to be given a Mantoux test - where tuberculin was injected just
under the skin - and those children whose tests were negative after three to five days
were offered BCG. After vaccination each child was given a card stating that a
successful vaccination had taken place and other records were carefully inscribed
according to detailed instructions.
The BCG campaign started fairly slowly with only 12,000 vaccinations being carried
out in 1952 in a group that included hospital staff, contacts and schoolchildren. 166 By
1955 there were 26,052 persons vaccinated, including schoolchildren. 167 The School
Medical Service soon discovered there were some useful and important spin-offs to
162
‘Immunization against Tuberculosis’, H-NA 478, General Policy - Napier, ANZ, Wellington.
163
Immunization against Tuberculosis’, Appendix 4, H-NA 478, ANZ, Wellington.
164
AJHR, 1952, H-31, p.60.
165
‘Immunization against Tuberculosis’, H-NA 478, ANZ, Wellington.
166 AJHR, 1953, H-31, p.63.
167 AJHR, 1956, H-31, p.72.
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