( CNN ) -- Saudi Arabia 's health minister was the first person in the country to receive the H1N1 vaccination Saturday in a televised event aimed at calming fears about the safety of the vaccine . After Abdullah Al-Rabeeah got the vaccine , his daughter and several other government officials received it , a spokesman for the Saudi Health Ministry said . The vaccinations became a thorny issue in Saudi Arabia and some neighboring countries after the government strongly recommended the vaccine to people coming to the country for the Hajj , a pilgrimage required of Muslims at least once in their lives . Health officials have been concerned about how to keep the virus , also known as swine flu , from spreading among the millions of visitors expected in Saudi Arabia during this year 's Hajj . But some have expressed fears about the vaccination . `` I 'm being forced to get this shot , '' said Saher Abu Al-Khair , an Egyptian who is planning a pilgrimage . `` And if God wills that I should die as a result , so be it . '' Saudi 's Health Ministry said it hoped televising the health minister rolling up his sleeve for the shot will help calm fears . `` I have taken the adjuvant vaccine to tell them that even adjuvant vaccine is safe and I gave it to my daughter in public because we 've been studying this for the last few months , '' the health minister said . `` We 're confident that it is similar to seasonal flu vaccine and we feel that it is safe . '' CNN 's Mohammed Jamjoom and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report .
Health officials concerned about spread of swine flu from millions visiting country for this the last few months 's Hajj . Some Muslims have expressed fears about the safety of the Saudi vaccination prompting Abdullah Al-Rabeeah 's action . Health Ministry : `` We 're confident that it is similar to seasonal flu vaccine and we feel that it is safe ''