Immunisation status amongst children attending special schools

Objective To determine whether children with disabilities attending special schools have the same immunisation uptake rate as the local general child population. Design Cross‐sectional survey of computer database of immunisation records for the area. Setting Community population of Bath clinical area, south‐west England. Sample The 136 children attending three special schools in the area and 272 randomly selected age and sex matched controls. Measurement Uptake rates of all vaccines covered by the routine immunisation schedule in the UK. Results Immunisation rates for the children in the special schools were significantly lower (59%) than those of control children attending normal schools (83%). The immunisations which children in special schools were less likely to have received were pertussis, measles and rubella. Conclusions Children with severe learning and physical disabilities who attend special schools in the area studied are less likely to be fully immunised than their peers attending mainstream schools. These children have the right to receive the appropriate protection against infectious disease and may in fact be particularly vulnerable to these diseases. Steps should be taken to determine why they are not fully immunised and plans made to improve the uptake rate.