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"Oh, how time flies, it's going to be Hajj again. I remembered when we were in Saudi Arabia we saw lots of pilgrims everywhere. I surely hope the pilgrimage will be smooth considering the swine flu scare and everyone be safe."
12 hours ago
RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Arabia warned elderly Muslims and pregnant women on Tuesday against undertaking the hajj pilgrimage this year as the threat threat of swine flu mounts worldwide.
The government has also pre-ordered millions of doses of vaccines being developed for the rapidly spreading H1NI flu so that, if ready, they can be administered around the kingdom ahead of the massive November-December global pilgrimage to Mecca.
"We always advise people with asthma, or pregnant women, or the elderly not to come on the hajj," ministry spokesman Dr Khaled Marghlani said.
This year the swine flu threat has made the warning more important and the government is stressing the danger to those groups of people, Marghlani said.
Marghlani said the country was hopeful that a swine flu vaccine could be readied ahead of the hajj, when more than 1.7 million pilgrims from all over the world descend on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia has pre-ordered vaccine doses equivalent to 20 percent of the country's population of 25.3 million people, Marghlani said.
"We will be one of the first countries on the list" for the vaccine, he said.
He also said countries from which most Muslim pilgrims originate were being encouraged to order vaccine and put it to use on pilgrims if it is ready before the hajj.
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12 hours ago
RIYADH (AFP) — Saudi Arabia warned elderly Muslims and pregnant women on Tuesday against undertaking the hajj pilgrimage this year as the threat threat of swine flu mounts worldwide.
The government has also pre-ordered millions of doses of vaccines being developed for the rapidly spreading H1NI flu so that, if ready, they can be administered around the kingdom ahead of the massive November-December global pilgrimage to Mecca.
"We always advise people with asthma, or pregnant women, or the elderly not to come on the hajj," ministry spokesman Dr Khaled Marghlani said.
This year the swine flu threat has made the warning more important and the government is stressing the danger to those groups of people, Marghlani said.
Marghlani said the country was hopeful that a swine flu vaccine could be readied ahead of the hajj, when more than 1.7 million pilgrims from all over the world descend on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia has pre-ordered vaccine doses equivalent to 20 percent of the country's population of 25.3 million people, Marghlani said.
"We will be one of the first countries on the list" for the vaccine, he said.
He also said countries from which most Muslim pilgrims originate were being encouraged to order vaccine and put it to use on pilgrims if it is ready before the hajj.
See full story
Source:
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