JEDDAH/RIYADH: The vaccination campaign against the H1N1 virus kicks off in Jeddah on Wednesday. Deputy assistant director for primary health care Dr. Nuha Dashash told Arab News the vaccine will be given first to domestic pilgrims and government Haj employees.

She said the campaign would be accompanied by a refresher course for 150 doctors and nurses on the vaccine.

“The training session will focus on how to prepare and administer the vaccine,” she said.

The Ministry of Health urged on Tuesday citizens and expatriates wishing to perform Haj and all those involved in Haj services to visit the nearest health centers in order to be vaccinated.

Pilgrims are advised to take the vaccination at least 10 days before their pilgrimage.

The ministry made it clear that the first people who will be vaccinated in the first phase are: the domestic pilgrims, the government employees servicing them, the health workers in various parts of the Kingdom and people most vulnerable to the disease in Makkah and Madinah.

The ministry supplied enough quantities of the vaccine to concerned government organs to give to their staff.

The ministry said it was optional for domestic pilgrims with Haj permits to take the vaccine and reiterated that all precautionary measures were being taken against the spread of the swine flu.

Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani told Arab News that the ministry has distributed one million vaccines to all the health regions including Makkah and Madinah for necessary inoculation among local pilgrims as well as health workers and others who work in the two holy cities. Six million more vaccines are on the way, he added.

On Saturday, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah launched the first phase of the vaccination campaign in Riyadh. More than 100 health officials, including the minister, received the shots.

The vaccine has been approved by the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA).

So far, about 7,000 H1N1 cases have been reported in the Kingdom with 62 deaths among them.

Al-Mirghalani said the vaccination would be given to both citizens and residents free of charge. He added that the ministry has enough stock to deal with the vaccination campaign since it receives the required volume from countries in Europe and the United States.

Al-Mirghalani said the National Scientific Committee for Prevention of Infectious Diseases and swine flu experts from the US Centers for Disease Control are on 24-hour vigil for swine flu in the Kingdom, particularly in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah during the pilgrimage.