China's Mecca pilgrims to get free flu vaccine

By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-16 09:14

Chinese Muslims planning to participate in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca are being offered free H1N1 flu jabs from the government before they go, the China Islamic Association said Thursday.

The offer of a free vaccination was made to all 12,700 pilgrims set to leave on chartered flights to Mecca between Oct 30 and Nov 17. The pilgrims will return from the trip in December.

"The inoculation is voluntary and free," said Wang Guoliang, deputy secretary general of the association.

"Those who refuse the vaccine, for whatever reason, will still be able to go as planned," he added.

Most of the 100 or so pilgrims currently in Beijing have already chosen to have the shots, he said.

"Those who didn't have it, for the most part, were physically unsuitable for the vaccine," he said.

Nationwide, as of Oct 11, more than 300,000 people have received the jab, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH). Most were students - the group considered most at risk from the potentially deadly infection. China is among several countries worldwide - including the United States and Australia - that have started a mass vaccination program.

So far, the virus has sickened more than 23,800 people on the Chinese mainland. One of those people died last week.

"The latest vaccination among pilgrims is aimed at protecting them from possible flu infection in Mecca, which receives about two million people each year," Wang said.

The government is also directing other resources toward the pilgrims. It has made available enough Tamiflu medication to treat 5,000 people and handed out 100,000 disposable masks to Mecca visitors from China, he said.

A team of 44 medical workers and four MOH experts will accompany the travelers.

All of those going on the Hajj have also been offered vaccinations against seasonal flu, he said.

Yang Zhibo, vice-chairman of the China Islamic Association, said the pilgrims this year will come from 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. Their average age is 60.

The largest contingent, 3,000 people, comes from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said Yang.

"The oldest pilgrim is younger than 65, which is in line with the guidance issued by the host country, Saudi Arabia," Yang said.

In June, Saudi Arabia held a workshop where health officials recommended pregnant women, children and elderly people with chronic illnesses not attend the pilgrimage this November, media reports said.

In addition, officials in Saudi Arabia have recommended that visitors receive a seasonal flu vaccination at least two weeks before traveling to holy sites.

Gregory Hartl, team leader for WHO's H1N1 Communications, told CNN: "We are distributing to all countries the advice that Saudi Arabia itself has put out for Hajj season."

Singapore is compelling its pilgrims to Mecca to have an H1N1 vaccination, once a vaccine is made available to the public, the country's Islamic Religious Council announced in early September.

Pilgrims will have to submit vaccination certificates for both seasonal flu and H1N1 two weeks before getting their visas for the Hajj.

Since 1979, Chinese Muslims have made the pilgrimage to Mecca each year. In 2008, the number of pilgrims topped 10,000 for the first time.