CAIRO: The Ministry of Health sent requests for the H1N1 vaccine to five different pharmaceutical companies, asking them to deliver before Hajj season, a statement by the Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) said. The companies were asked to send the specified amount "as soon as possible. Hajj season starts late November and the vaccine is expected to be available in the market in the same month. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health ordered five million doses of an H1N1 vaccine, a statement by Nasr Al-Sayed, deputy minister of health, said. In a previous statement, Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly said that the ministry will not purchase the new vaccine in large quantities unless the situation in Egypt requires it to do so. "The virus at its current status is very mild and can simply be treated with an aspirin and a few days resting at home, El-Gabaly said, "so I will not buy a vaccine that costs the country millions of dollars unless it is needed. By press time, the total number of H1N1 cases in Egypt had reached 703. Twenty-three cases were recently reported, all of which are Egyptian, according to Abdel Rahman Shahin, official spokesperson at the Ministry of Health. Shahin further added that the number of recovered cases is 559 and the remaining cases are undergoing treatment and are in good condition.
