LOS ANGELES — The United States has decided to vaccinate the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country against the A/H1N1 flu to prevent the disease from further spreading.

"We believe it's important that all people be vaccinated regardless of immigration status if there's a pressing public health concern," said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Public health experts said that leaving the country's immigrants unvaccinated would increase the health risk to everyone and make it much harder to control the epidemic.

However, most illegal immigrants are afraid that the government would arrest and deport them after receiving the vaccination, or the immigration law enforcement agencies would come to arrest them once they show up at the clinic.

In an attempt to quell those fears, federal health officials are trying to assure them that no one will be asked to prove their immigration status to get the vaccine at any public health clinic or mass vaccination site.

"Whether you're legal or illegal, the flu virus does not discriminate and neither do we," said Arleen Porcell, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vaccine is provided free by the U.S. government, but some clinics or retail stores may charge a fee to cover administrative costs. The A/H1N1 flu vaccinations are set to start in October in the United States. – Xinhua

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