Belarus launched a national vaccination for the A/H1N1 flu on Tuesday, starting from the capital city of Minsk, said Minsk's health and epidemiology center.

Belarus has so far bought some 1 million doses of flu vaccines from Russia, according to the Interfax news agency, most of which have been distributed to main clinics of the city.

Local residents were expected to be inoculated starting from Tuesday noon, the first batch of whom would be medical workers and personnel of municipal administration.

To date, Belarus has reported 165 flu cases. By mid-November of 2009, the death toll had registered 13.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2010)