Kuwait was among the first countries of the world that sought the purchase of vaccines as soon as they were available on the international markets , a national authority said on Thursday. Dr. Ahmad AlـShatti, a member of the national committee for protection against the swine flu, said in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the State sought to secure up to two million vaccines.
"A batch of 45,000 vaccines is expected to arrive in the country this month," he said, indicating that "medical teams would be injected first and then people planning to travel to pilgrimage sites."
He affirmed the necessity of pilgrims being among the first to be immunized against the communicable disease, considering the fact that they would mingle with a large number of people, from various countries around the world, at the sacred sites.
"Leaders in the health sector were also put on top of the list of those to be vaccinated first," he added.
The Ministry of Health confirmed 673 new cases of swine flu A(H1N1) this week. A ministry statement said the increase in the number of cases did not constitute a transformation of intensity of the virus as most cases were mild and have positively responded to the given treatment.
Meanwhile, The Directorate of Moral Guidance at the Kuwait National Guard denied news reports circulated by various mass media over the suspension of a training course for recruits out of fear that some of them could be infected with swine saying; "the news was baseless in its entirety."
The directorate said in a press statement that the course was held for recruits and not for nonـcommissioned officers and that there were no suspicions of swine flu cases. It also emphasized on its keenness on maintaining transparency in dealing with all matters.

Al Watan Daily