The Saudi government has issused new rules stating that anyone travelling to the country will have to be vaccinated against seasonal flu,and swine flu
if the vaccines are made avalible in time for the Haj.
Muslims planning to travel from Britain to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage will need to be vaccinated against seasonal flu before they can enter the
country. New travel rules from the Saudi government mean that Britons cannot apply for a visa without a vaccine certificate that is at least two
weeks old. If a vaccine for swine flu is available before November, when the annual Hajj pilgrimage takes place, British Muslims will be required to
have that as well to prevent further outbreaks of H1N1. About two million Muslims from around the world travel to the holiest place in Islam, Mecca
every year.
www.nursingtimes.net...
Will this affect the number of muslims travelling to Saudi,or will they all take their vaccines and continue to travel?
This seems like a "backdoor" route to getting a large group of muslims vaccinated maybe.
The article only specifies British muslims will need to be vaccinated,with no mention of other countries.It will be intersting to see if the swine flu
fears affect the numbers at the pilgrimage.