A member of the Board of Senior Ulema has condemned persons who circulate rumors that the swine flu vaccine is unsafe, saying that they must “provide proof or scientific research” to support their claims which contradict the results of tests conducted by official authorities. Ali Abbas Al-Hakami, who is also a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, said that the “excessive gossip” concerning swine flu had led to “fact getting confused with fiction”. “This flu may be less of a threat than ordinary flu in some cases,” Al-Hakami said. “But some people have started spreading rumors, and one of them is about the vaccine but the scientific evidence shows it to be untrue.” “None of this is permitted in Shariah,” Al-Hakami continued, “and a Muslim should not speak of what he does not know and what could easily harm Muslims in mind or body unless he is a specialist and is in possession of proof.” Even specialists themselves, Al-Hakami added, should beware of causing panic or confusion, and should not rest their views on mere chance or “guesswork”. “People should not go around repeating unconfirmed rumors and spreading panic,” Al-Hakami said of rumors concerning the vaccine. “The Minister of Health himself has already announced that a great deal of work was done to ensure its efficacy and safety for the public, and the persons in charge should be left to do their work.” Al-Hakami reiterated that vaccination was optional, and insisted that persons not wishing to take the vaccine “leave people alone and stop spreading rumors.” Wash or be punished The Mayor of Taif has, meanwhile, warned staff responsible for washing corpses prior to burial that they would be questioned or punished if they refused to carry out their duties. Mayor Muhammed Ibn Homail issued the warning following the recent publication of religious fatwas permitting the “taimum” preparation of a corpse which involves no washing, and the refusal by some female workers to wash a girl who had died of swine flu alleging a fear of contracting the virus. The refusal led to the girl's body remaining unwashed for four hours and the procedure was eventually carried out by the family of the deceased. “Washing the dead is the task of the corpse washers, even if the deceased died from swine flu, and they have no right to refuse whatsoever the cause of death and regardless of some religious edicts permitting ‘taimum',” Ibn Homail said. Ibn Homail added that the Mayor's Office was responsible for the safety of its staff and had made it mandatory for a Taif Health Affairs Preventive Medicine team to attend the washing procedures of persons who have died from pandemics.
