Tower Hamlets Health Authority Measles Immunisation Initiative 1987-88.

Measles as a cause of childhood death and disability can be prevented by vaccination of 95% of the pre-school population, as in the United States, where proof of measles immunisation is required for school entry. An inner-city London Health Authority used the 1987 World Immunisation Day as the occasion to invite heads of nursery and infant schools to join in a pilot scheme to increase the number of new pupils who were protected. A small but growing number of the schools now include a question about immunisation in their admission routine. The computerised appointment system for child health clinic vaccinations was shown to be unable to give sufficient appointments for older children. School nurses and health visitors organised extra immunisation sessions during the 1988 epidemic.