'More vulnerable' nursery children at Solihull school not vaccinated

Apr 29 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Post

Nursery children at a Solihull primary school are not being offered vaccinations against hepatitis A despite four infant school pupils being diagnosed with the virus.

The four cases at St Alphege Church of England Infants were confirmed by the Health Protection Agency and revealed in yesterday’s Birmingham Post.

A spokesman for the HPA said all staff and pupils at the school were being offered vaccination as a precautionary measure. But the parent of a child in the nursery at St Alphege Infants said their youngsters were not being offered immunisation against hepatitis A.

“This is despite them being more vulnerable, being so much younger, and many have just recovered from chickenpox so have low immunity at the moment.”

The parent, who did not want to be named, said children attending the nursery were excluded because there was no apparent risk of cross-contamination between the two buildings.