ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Travellers heading to Saudi Arabia for Umrah can no longer book or pay for their influenza and meningitis vaccinations through NADRA, after the authority suspended the service on the instructions of Border Health Services.
In a notice posted late on Friday, NADRA said registration and fee collection for the two vaccines, which it had offered through its Pak ID app and e-Sahulat outlets, had been “temporarily suspended”. It asked travellers to contact Border Health Services directly for guidance. It did not say how long the suspension would last, or what would happen to people who had already registered and paid.
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia requires pilgrims to be vaccinated against meningitis, and since September 15 Pakistan has made digital proof of vaccination, linked to NADRA records, compulsory for Hajj and Umrah travellers. A traveller who cannot get the jab recorded risks problems at departure.
The background: the suspension follows the health ministry’s decision last month to scrap the vaccination arrangement run by Border Health Services and arrest the officials behind it, after an inquiry ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif found that a new contract had pushed the cost of a jab to about Rs4,500, against roughly Rs1,250 before. The ministry said then that it would float a fresh tender for meningitis and influenza vaccines for overseas travellers within a month, and that pilgrims should arrange their vaccinations through their travel agents in the meantime.
What to do if you are travelling: contact Border Health Services or your travel agent before booking a flight, and ask where you can be vaccinated and how the vaccination will be recorded against your CNIC. If you have already paid through Pak ID or e-Sahulat, keep your payment receipt and ask Border Health Services whether it is still valid. Leave enough time: Saudi Arabia expects the meningitis vaccine to be given at least 10 days before arrival.
