JEDDAH: Side effects including serious illness, autism and even death were among the reasons parents gave for refusing to let their children receive the H1N1 vaccine in schools this week.
“If our children were to die or fall seriously ill due to side effects, whom will we turn to? The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health have already stated they are not liable,” said one father, who did not want to be identified.
Nonetheless health officials have stood by previous promises that the vaccine is as safe as the seasonal flu shot and only contains mild side effects such as muscle soreness, fevers or headaches.
“This vaccine has been tested and been found to be clinically safe for distribution by the Ministry of Health,” Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah Dr. Sami Badawood told Arab News. He added that the vaccine does not contain any ingredients that cause autism.
Badawood said the number of kindergarten and primary school pupils who have come forward to receive the vaccine is now 750 from 300,000 registered primary school students.
“We plan to extend the vaccination campaign for another week as we expect the number of pupils receiving the jab to increase once parents understand and trust that the drug is safe,” he said.
“Parents can definitely trust the Ministry of Health in reporting any problems they may have with the vaccine. The Ministry of Health is the responsible body for the vaccine and any other circulated medication in Saudi Arabia,” Badawood said.
The Kingdomwide H1N1 vaccination campaign was launched on Saturday by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to try and halt the spread of the swine flu outbreak which has, according to official reports, claimed 105 lives out of the 14,500 reported cases in the Kingdom since the outbreak began.
To increase awareness and convince parents that the vaccine is safe, Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah received the jab along with his children at the beginning of the school year. However, parents are still reluctant to believe the inoculation is completely safe.
Deputy Minister of Health for Contagious Diseases Ziad Maimash told Al-Watan that the ministry had issued public statements that the number of infected people from H1N1 had increased over the past few weeks, adding this was the reason the vaccination was so important in reducing the spread of the virus.
Maimash added that the Saudi Food and Drug Authority had tested three types of swine flu vaccine out of the five approved by the World Health Organization and manufactured worldwide and had proven their safety.
