Immunisations among school leavers: is there a place for measles-mumps-rubella vaccine?

To ascertain measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) immunisation coverage among school leavers in an inner city London borough following a local MMR catch-up initiative, a questionnaire was sent to parents and guardians of adolescents who attended the 12 secondary schools in Haringey and were due for the school leavers' vaccination. The questionnaire enquired about previous history of MMR vaccination and a history of adverse events or contraindications to the vaccine. The electronic immunisation records of 400 children (30-35 students from each school) included in the catch up initiative were randomly selected. The childrens' school health records were manually compared with the electronic records. The mean age of the children was 14.7 years, and 224 (56%) were male. Of the 373 records examined prior to the local MMR catch-up initiative, 98 children (26%) had never received MMR, 173 (46.5%) had only had one dose, 100 (27%) had two doses, and two children had three doses of the vaccine. During the school leavers' MMR immunisation, 171 (43%) received a dose of MMR and the number of children immunised with two doses increased to 206 (55.3% versus 27% P<0.001), doubling the coverage. Offering MMR vaccination as part of the school leavers immunisation is logistically convenient and it may limit the extent of outbreaks.