The parents of autistic children have claimed their kids were turned away from getting a Covid-19 vaccine because they “weren’t disabled enough,” even though they had appointments.

One angry dad has accused workers of “playing God.”

Matt Robinson and his wife Suzanne have a severely autistic 10-year-old son, Zac.

Suzanne had an appointment for a Covid-19 vaccine, but when she arrived, she was told she could not have one.

“It seems like someone there is playing God. The man there told my wife she was the 26th person they have had to turn away,” Mr. Robinson said.

“We got our letter and my wife booked in for an appointment on Monday. We should be in group six as parent carers and it is critical we have the jab. Zac needs full-time care, and if he were to get coronavirus it would be terrible for him. He just would not be able to cope with the medical equipment needed if he had to go to the hospital,” the dad explained.

“Also, if one of us got it, there would be no way we could look after him, which makes having the vaccine so important for us,” he continued.

“Yet my wife gets a letter, books an appointment and then gets turned away. She’s now had to reschedule at a pharmacy in Tilehurst and won’t get her jab for another three weeks. This is another sign of how little people seem to care for people with learning disabilities,” Mr. Robinson said.

Mr Robinson said he was still waiting for an invitation for his own vaccination.

The couple called the British government, who told them they “absolutely should” be eligible for the vaccine.

Another couple faced a similar ordeal. Their son is not as severely autistic as Zac, but still needs full-time care.

The dad, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that “they told us our children weren’t disabled enough for us to get our vaccines”.

“There must have been 20 people turned away when I was there. I’ve got the letter and booked my appointment at the stadium for the vaccine. My son is 17 and is what they call a ‘high-functioning’ autistic. He still needs full-time care though,” he said.

“It got to my appointment time and I’ve basically been told that he’s not ill enough for me to get my vaccine. So there are 20 of us there, who have all been told turned away. All these people have vulnerable children and have made a major effort to get here and then they’re turned away,” the dad continued.

“I don’t know if it’s an error, but we need to vaccinate because if we get ill, or our children get ill, it could lead to very serious consequences. My appointment has not been rescheduled yet and I really hope we don’t end up slipping through the net because of this.”