Jordanian pilgrims to take H1N1 vaccine

Jordan’s Health Minister, Nayef Al Fayez, confirmed on Saturday that the first shipment of 100,000 swine flu shots ordered for Jordanians traveling to Saudi Arabia for the annual Muslim pilgrimage - beginning late November - would be available by late October or early November.He told the Petra news agency that Saudi authorities had demanded that those making the journey of faith take the shots two weeks before their entry into Saudi territory.

The ministry, in collaboration with the National Committee for the Prevention of Epidemics, had already drawn up a precautionary plan to immunize 80 percent of the kingdom's population at a total cost of JD72 million to combat the spread of the epidemic, the agency added.

Last week the Ministry of Education said the number of students who had contracted the H1N1 virus in schools across the kingdom had hit 37.

The ministry's Secretary General Fawaz Jaradat added however that 20 of the students had since left hospital after recovery, while the rest remained on medication - their condition described as stable.

Jaradat said the launch of a public awareness detailing how to protect oneself against infection meant that going to school was still preferable to staying at home.