RIYADH - SAUDI Arabia began vaccinating its population against swine flu on Saturday, with priority going to government employees working on the annual hajj pilgrimage that takes place later this month.

Health ministry officials were the first to receive the inoculation against A(H1N1), the official SPA news agency said.

It said the vaccine has also been distributed to all government bodies involved in the hajj, which sees some three million pilgrims descending on the Muslim holy city of Mecca, including around a million from within Saudi Arabia.

Local pilgrims will have the option to be vaccinated, it added.

The ministry said it is ready to combat the flu during the busy hajj season which peaks between November 25 and 29.

Saudi health authorities said earlier this month that the kingdom has received the first tranche of 11 million vaccine doses it has ordered.

The governments of several countries sending pilgrims on the hajj, including China and Egypt which see tens of thousands heading there each year, are vaccinating citizens making the journey. -- AFP