Newspaper Article

Haj Pilgrims Receive Vaccination

 Written by Narissa Noor Friday, 06 November 2009 08:56 

 

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday that Haj pilgrims in the Holy Land have begun to be vaccinated stating: "So far we can account for all the pilgrims' medical safety".

"The Haj medical team have started vaccinating our pilgrims," the Director General of Medical Services, Dr Hajah Norlila, told the Bulletin during a meeting with senior ministry officials.The Director General, however, disclosed that there would still be a period of time that the pilgrims will remain vulnerable to H1N1.

"The maximum time for the vaccination to take effect is two weeks," she explained. "For those two weeks, the pilgrims are not protected so we are still reinforcing the normal precautions."Haj pilgrims have been informed of the risks that remain in the next two weeks until the vaccinations take full effect.

"The pilgrims have also been informed of the symptoms that they might experience after getting the vaccine," said Dr Zainal, Senior Special Duties Officer and Personal Assistant to the Minister of Health, explaining that they might feel feverish as a side-effect of the vaccination.When asked what precautions the ministry have put in place to ensure the pilgrims' safety within those two weeks, the director general replied: "Extra precautionary advice has been reiterated to the pilgrims during their pre-Haj course."

The ministry has also provided the Haj group with more Tamiflu, antibiotics and other medications than they have in previous years," she added.She also revealed that the ministry has maintained the number of doctors on the Haj medical team despite the obvious drop in pilgrims compared to previous years, which usually run in the thousands."In a melting pot of millions of people it is inevitable that (some of the pilgrims) will fall sick. But we are prepared," she said.

Meanwhile, on the home front, the ministry has confirmed that the 4,500 doses of the H1N1 vaccine scheduled to arrive Wednesday has been received and "we have started identifying the priority groups". It was reported on Wednesday that the first few batches of the vaccine would be given to priority groups consisting of "frontline workers who may become exposed to the HINI virus and chronic patients".

The ministry, however, is still ironing out the mechanisms and logistics in preparation of an overwhelming response from the general public requesting for the vaccine."Even within the general population (which excludes frontliners and high risk patients) there will still be priority lists," said the director general, but could not yet specify the criteria.Distribution of the vaccine to the public has not begun "as there is still not enough to go around."

"There are other factors to take into consideration when deciding the logistics and distribution of the vaccine such as training of nurses and the integrity of its cold chain (a system of refrigeration used for keeping and distributing vaccines at the correct temperature and in good condition, from the manufacturer to the point of use by the health worker)," added Dr Zainal.Dr Hajah Norlila, however, assured the public that the situation in Brunei is under control."There's no rush in Brunei as the number of cases is still `okay'," Dr Hajah Norlila asserted and maintained that their biggest concern remains the, safety of those overseas.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin