Vaccination vital in our multi-cultural society

11:39am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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On Thursday evening I arrived home from work to find a letter with regards to the BCG vaccine (TB) tuberculosis, asking questions with regards to the residency and ethnic background.

This letter stated that if both parents were from the United Kingdom he would not be entitled to this vaccine, but if he came into contact or one or both parents were from one of the countries that were listed on the reverse of the letter he would be entitled to the BCG, also that on returning the letter a nurse would assess if they would be eligible to have the vaccination. Who is the National Health Service to play god with our children's lives? I did contact Princes Court to ask about this and was told that my children would not be entitled to have the vaccination unless they spent any periods of time out of the country or associated with anyone who did, and that they had been contacted by numerous parents who had received the letter who also thought that this was disgusting.

I am a little deterred by the fact that in everyday life everyone comes into contact with people of all different nationalities and ethnic back grounds, and that myself and my partner, like all other parents work full-time and pay national insurance and taxes and we are now being informed that our children are not entitled to receive the immunisations to protect them in their future. It was published in papers recently that a number of pupils in a school in Birmingham have contracted tuberculosis illness. Surely this should only prove that there is a need for vaccination as there are so many cultures and ethnic backgrounds in the United Kingdom.

I am not a racist person or prejudiced but do feel that we as British (UK) tax payers' children are being segregated.

Helen Willett Elton, Bury