DOHA: Some of the primary health centres, offering vaccination against H1N1 had run out of stocks as the campaign has triggered a tremendous response from families, sources from the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) have said.

SCH has designated 10 primary health centres located in various parts of the country for the vaccination during the Eid Al Adha holidays.

“We have received a very good response from families over the past two days. Some health centres had run out of stocks, following a huge demand for the vaccine,” a senior SCH official told this newspaper yesterday.

He said children and families have been given priority in the current phase of the campaign. After the Eid holidays, the vaccine will be made available for all in their respective health centres.

The mass campaign was launched on Thursday after Qatar received the second batch of the vaccine with 300,000 doses.

The health authorities had been urging the public to get vaccinated during the holidays to avoid a possible exposure to the virus as people gather to celebrate.

With the H1N1 cases on the rise, experts have been warning about a second wave of the pandemic in Qatar during winter.

There have been fears that a lukewarm response to the vaccination could expose the entire population to the risk of being infected. Vaccinating two-thirds of the population could prevent a massive outbreak, it was noted.

Asked if the existing stocks were enough to meet the current demand, the official said, “We are expecting the next consignment with another 300,000 doses very soon. That will help us vaccinate a major portion of the population.”

Small children and pregnant women have been administered the vaccine at SCH’s Vaccination Unit is Abu Hamour. These two categories require a different shot of the vaccine, explained the official.

The vaccine is recommended to anyone who is not allergic to eggs. The side effects are normal and similar to that of seasonal flu vaccination.

There is no harm in administering the vaccine to those who have already got a seasonal flu vaccination, according to experts.