Saudi Arabia has officially lifted the mandatory meningitis vaccination requirement for performing Umrah. The country’s General Authority of Civil Aviation announced the decision on Thursday (February 6). Previously, Saudi authorities had issued a directive stating that from February 10 onwards, all Umrah pilgrims must receive the Neisseria meningitis vaccine.
According to Khaleej Times, the Civil Aviation Authority has circulated this new directive to all airlines.
Earlier, the Saudi Ministry of Health had mandated that from February 10, all Umrah pilgrims must be vaccinated against meningitis. The directive specified that the rule would apply to all visa holders and required the vaccine to be taken at least 10 days before arrival in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, those who had received the vaccine more than three years ago were required to take a new dose. However, with this latest decision, all previous vaccination requirements have been revoked.
In March last year, the Saudi government had made the meningitis vaccine mandatory for all Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.
With less than a month remaining before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the number of Umrah pilgrims is expected to increase significantly. The previous vaccination requirement had made travel to Saudi Arabia more challenging for many. However, with this new decision, pilgrims can now travel for Umrah without any restrictions related to the meningitis vaccine.