§ 42. Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Minister of Health whether he will see that in all future advertisements recommending the practice of immunisation, a statement is added stating that 19,040 children contracted diphtheria after submitting to this operation and of these 142 died, in the last five years, in order that the public may have the full facts concerning immunisation.
§ Mr. BevanNo, Sir. Nor can I agree that this would be giving the public " the full facts." Obviously you cannot guarantee absolute immunity in every case; but the most striking facts are that the chance of a child's death from diphtheria is 26 times greater if it is not immunised and that deaths from diphtheria have been reduced to about a quarter of the prewar yearly average.
§ Mr. FreemanDoes not my right hon. Friend think that the public are entitled to know these facts, whether they are acceptable to others or not? Surely they may themselves judge whether they want their children to submit to this useless and objectionable operation?
§ Mr. BevanMy hon. Friend should realise that the facts are available. They are published in the annual reports, and we have to make certain intelligent deductions from the known statistics.