Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/2210

2000 of the death, illness, absence or inability of the parent, or other cause, any other person has the custody of the child, such person must cause it to be vaccinated within six months from its birth, and in the event of the operation being unsuccessful, must cause it to be vaccinated again. The person responsible may either require the public vaccinator for the district to attend for the purpose, without fee, or he may employ a registered medical practitioner. It is the duty of the registrar of births, within seven days after the registration of a birth of any child not already vaccinated, to give notice to the parent or other person responsible for it, requiring it to be duly vaccinated. And if the child is not vaccinated within four months after its birth, it is the duty of the public vaccinator for the district, after at least twenty-four hours' notice to the parent, to visit the house of the child and offer to vaccinate it.

Certificate of Successful Vaccination.—1. Where the operation has been performed by a public vaccinator and found to be successful, it is his duty to send a certificate to that effect to the vaccination officer of the district, and on request, he is bound to give the parent or other person responsible for the child a duplicate of such certificate, free of charge.

2. Where the child has been vaccinated by a medical practitioner he must, as soon as he has ascertained that the result is successful, give to the parent, etc., a certificate in the proper form, duly filled up and signed by him, which must be sent by the parent, etc., to the vaccination officer within seven days after the inspection of the child. No fee is payable for the registration of the certificate; on the other hand, failure to send it involves a penalty not exceeding 20s. If a child is submitted to a public vaccinator, and on examination he is satisfied that such child has already been successfully vaccinated, he may give a certificate of vaccination.

Cases in which the General Rule will be relaxed.— 1. If the public vaccinator or the medical practitioner, as the case may be, is of opinion that the child is not in a fit and proper state to be successfully vaccinated, it is his duty to give a certificate to that effect, which must be transmitted to the vaccination officer for the district in accordance with the above provisions with regard to certificates of successful vaccination. The certificate in question remains in force for two months, and will be renewable for successive periods of two months until the child is in a fit state to be vaccinated.

2. Where a child, after three unsuccessful attempts, is found to be insusceptible of successful vaccination, or has already had small-pox, it is likewise the duty of the public vaccinator or medical practitioner, as the case may be, to certify accordingly. The effect of such certificate, after transmission to the vaccination officer in the same way as a certificate of successful vaccination, will be to exempt the child from further vaccination. Failure to transmit the certificate will involve a penalty not exceeding 20s.

3. If within four months from the birth of the child the parent or other person responsible for it satisfies two justices, or a stipendiary or metropolitan police magistrate, as the case may be, that he conscientiously believes that vaccination would be prejudicial to the health of the child, and within seven days thereafter delivers to the vaccination officer for the district a certificate by such justices or magistrate of such conscientious objection. The production of a certificate of the registration of the child's birth may be required before a certificate of conscientious objection is granted.

Penalties for Non-compliance with Requirements.—Every parent or other person responsible for a child who neglects to have it vaccinated, or after vaccination, to have it inspected in order to ascertain the result will, in the absence of reasonable excuse, be liable to a penalty not exceeding 20s.