Saudi Arabia: Vaccination registration on Sehaty app mandatory before arrival in Mecca
Overseas pilgrims required to get Neisseria meningitidis shot 10 days prior to arrival
Cairo: Saudi Arabia has urged domestic pilgrims to complete Hajj-related vaccinations in the run-up to upcoming pilgrimage to protect health of all pilgrims at the annual Islamic congregation.
Saudis and foreign residents, who have registered to perform next month’s Hajj in and around the holy city of Mecca, are required to receive inoculations against COVID-19, the seasonal influenza, and meningitis within the last five years ahead of pilgrimage.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj has said the vaccinations are available at the primary healthcare centers.
The ministry called for mandatory registration of the vaccinations in the Health Ministry’s Sehaty app before the pilgrims’ arrival in Mecca.
Overseas pilgrims are required to get the Neisseria meningitidis vaccine administered at least 10 days prior to their arrival, verified by a certificate from their respective home countries. They must also be vaccinated against polio, COVID-19 and seasonal flu.
In February, Saudi Arabia opened e-registration for its citizens and Muslim expatriates, who wish to perform Hajj.
The Ministry of Hajj unveiled four pilgrimage packages with their prices ranging from SR4,099 to SR13,265 depending on accommodation level. The ministry also said prices of these packages can be paid in three instalments.
In the first, 20 per cent of the overall cost was to be paid until the first day of the Islamic lunar month of Ramadan that started on March 11; the second instalment stands at 40 per cent with the deadline set at the 20th of Ramadan corresponding to March 31; and the third had to be paid by the 20th of the following Islamic month of Shawwal corresponding to April 29.
This year’s Hajj rites are expected to begin on June 14, depending on the sighting of the new moon.
More than 2 million Muslims from across the globe are anticipated to attend upcoming Hajj amid maximum preparations from the agencies concerned in the kingdom.
Hajj is one of Islam’s five obligatory duties. Muslims, who can physically and financially afford Hajj, have to perform it at least once in a lifetime.