The Spanish Health Ministry began its vaccination campaign against the A/H1N1 flu virus this Monday.

The Ministry expects between 15-20 percent of the population will receive the vaccine.

The vaccination campaign begins with high-risk groups being the first to receive the vaccination. Those groups include state security forces, police, firemen, health and civil protection workers as well as anyone over six months old who has a chronic illness.

Pregnant women are also included among those in line to be vaccinated, but a special version of the vaccine for them will not be available until the end of the week.

The A/H1N1 flu virus is currently responsible for 97 percent of the flu cases reported in Spain and has so far caused 88 deaths in the country.

The latest figures from the Spanish Ministry of Health released last Thursday showed an incidence of 327.92 cases per 100,000 inhabitants with 145,113 new cases reported in the week up until November 7.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2009)