RIYADH: Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Prince Naif directed Monday that all regional governors in the Kingdom extend their fullest support to the vaccination campaign initiated Saturday among students, teachers and the handicapped. The Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, launched the second phase of its swine flu vaccination campaign throughout the Kingdom on Saturday.

To coincide with the campaign, the Ministry of Health launched an awareness campaign dubbed “Tamoni” — Vaccinate Me — in order to create awareness among parents and their children about the safety and usefulness of the vaccine. Ministry of Health spokesman Khalid Al-Mirghalani said the ministry wanted to reach all parents and legal guardians and tell them the useful effects of the program so that they will allow their children to be vaccinated.

During the current phase, the vaccine will be administered to primary and kindergarten children and those with special needs as well as teachers. This program will be carried out for a period of five weeks.

Al-Mirghalani said that the campaign would include a variety of activities and events that would be implemented through the print and electronic media. He added that the ministry’s call center — 8002494444 — would be open for public queries on the vaccine and methods of preventing the disease. He pointed out that the third phase of the flu was expected during the winter and that people should be protected from it.

Responding to the lukewarm response for consent for the vaccine from parents and legal guardians of students, Al-Mirghalani said that parents were getting panicked for no reasons. “The vaccine is just like another seasonal flu dose. We are not forcing parents to have their children vaccinated but we strongly advise them to do so as a preventive measure.”

So far, over 65 million people in 45 countries have taken the vaccine over the past few weeks and have shown no adverse side effects.

The United States has distributed 80 million doses of the vaccine. Al-Mirghalani indicated that the side effects of the vaccine were no different from those that occur with other vaccines given during childhood. The possible postvaccination effects include a dull pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, headache, or muscular pain or high temperature and nausea.

“The vaccination should not be administered to those persons who are allergic to poultry products.”