Pakistan urges Hajj pilgrims to be fully vaccinated to meet Saudi requirements

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central pandemic response body on Tuesday urged intended Hajj pilgrims to get themselves fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before traveling to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom requires all incoming passengers to have coronavirus vaccines approved by its health ministry which include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) asked all Pakistani Hajj pilgrims to get an additional or booster shot of one of the required vaccines 28 days after their first or second dose.
“This update in procedure will help them to comply with the COVID-19 vaccination requirements of Government of Saudi Arabia during Hajj,” the NCOC said in its statement.
“Moderna and Pfizer Vaccines are available across the country and travelers can get any of the booster dose after visiting [coronavirus vaccination centers] across the country,” it added.
Saudi Arabia has allowed up to one million people to join the Hajj pilgrimage this year, expanding it to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of strict COVID-19 restrictions.
Unlike the past, however, pilgrims this year must be under age 65 and fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, with 32,000 people using a government scheme and 48,000 traveling through private operators.