About 1,500 pupils from seven Catholic sponsored schools in Nakuru County were not immunised against the measles-rubella after the school administration barred health officers from accessing their facilities.
Pupils from Elimu Primary School, St Xavier’s Nursery, Christ the King Primary, St Peter's, Loreto Boys, Mary Mother of God, St Antony and Stella Marie had not been immunised when the exercise was concluded on Tuesday.
Nakuru Chief Public Health Officer Samuel King'ori said the schools had their gates locked.
“The schools locked their gates making it hard for the health officers to gain access to the facilities. Even when we tried pleading with them to open up the gates they ignored us,” said King'ori in an interview on Tuesday.
Kingori added that many of the parents were unaware that their children had not been immunised, especially the ones in boarding schools.
Parents with children at the schools, however, expressed anger claiming that the church was imposing their beliefs on their children.
“This is a different institution from the church and hence they should not force our children to succumb to their beliefs. We feel that this injection is important and hence the reason why the health department was insisting on it. Our children are our responsibility and its up to us to say whether the vaccine is right for them or not. They have no right to make that decision for us,” said Samuel Maina.