The Ministry of Health has printed 10 million H1N1 vaccination parental consent forms for the start of the vaccination campaign for schoolchildren. The five-week campaign has started with children at kindergartens and elementary schools, teaching staff, and special needs students. Intermediate and high school students will be vaccinated later. The Ministry of Health has again called on parents to sign the vaccination consent forms following a reported nationwide hesitation on the part of parents to allow their children to receive the swine flu vaccine. Suleiman Al-Shehri, of the Ministry of Education's Medical Services, reiterated that the Ministry of Health has repeatedly assured the public that the vaccine is safe, and added that side-effects were no different from those of other vaccines routinely taken during childhood or adulthood. “They include a mild headache, redness in the area where the injection is given, aching muscles, and a high temperature or vomiting,” Al-Shehri said. “Persons with egg allergies and those allergic to seasonal flu vaccines are advised not to take the vaccine,” he added.
