Jakarta, Indonesia – In October, Indonesian diplomats and Muslim clerics landed a plane in China. While diplomats were finalizing the deal to ensure millions of doses reach Indonesian citizens, clerics had a very different concern: whether the COVID-19 vaccine is legal to use under Islamic law.
Companies are in the race to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, and questions have been raised about the use of diving pork products by countries to protect dosages – banned by some religious groups – and the possibility of disruption of the vaccination campaign.
Gelatin made from pork is widely used as a stabilizer to ensure that the vaccine is safe and effective during storage and transport. Several companies have been working for years to develop a pork-free vaccine: Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has developed a pork-free meningitis vaccine, while Saudi- and Malaysia-based AJ Pharma is currently working on one of them.
The General Secretary of British Islamic Medical, Dr. Salman Waqar said the short shelf life of vaccines without demand, existing supply chain, cost and porcine gelatin means that the ingredient is likely to continue to be used in most vaccines over the years. Organization.
After Kauai allowed travel to see the spike in the Covid-19 cases
A spokesman for Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca said pork products were not part of their COVID-19 vaccine. But the limited supply and pre-existing deals of millions of dollars with other companies mean that some countries with large Muslim populations, such as Indonesia, will take the vaccine which is not yet certified to be gelatin free.
He said there is confusion for religious communities, including Orthodox Jews and Muslims, where the consumption of pork products is considered religiously unclean, and how the ban on medicine is enforced.
“There is a difference of opinion among Islamic scholars that you take something like pork gelatin and chemically change it,” Waqar said. “Do you still consider it religiously unclean to take it?”
The majority consensus from past discussions on the use of pork gelatin in vaccines is that it is valid under Islamic law, because there is “more harm” if the vaccine is not used, said an associate professor at the University of Sydney, Dr. Said Harnoor Rashid. .
A similar assessment has been made by the broad consensus of religious leaders in the Jewish Jewish community.
“According to Jewish law, eating pork or using pork is forbidden only when it is a natural way of eating,” said Rabbi David Steve, chairman of the Jozar, Israel’s rabbinical organization.
“If it is injected into the body, not through the mouth (eaten),” there is no taboo and no problem, especially when we worry about illnesses, “he said.
Still, there are dissenting opinions on the issue – some with some serious health consequences for Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, some at 225 million.
Russian scientists work on Covid-19 to kill ST. Petersburg
In 2018, the Indonesian Ulema Council, an organization of Muslim clerks that certifies products that are halal or valid under Islamic law, said the Ore and rubella vaccine is “haram,” or illegal, due to gelatin. Religious and community leaders began urging parents not to vaccinate their children.
“The measles case gives Indonesia the third highest rate of measles since the measles case,” said Rachel Howard, director of the Health Care Market Research Group Research Partnership.
A decree was later issued by the Muslim clerk’s organization, which allowed vaccinations, but continued because of the low rate of vaccinations following cultural restrictions, Howard said.
“Our study has shown that some Muslims in Indonesia are uncomfortable accepting vaccines with these ingredients,” he said, adding that they are allowed even when Muslim authorities issue guidelines.
One person has emerged as the ‘halal’ logo of Indonesia’s Ulema Council. Displayed on the facade of a restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia. 11. Companies are rushing to develop the Covid-1 vaccine and countries are vying to secure doses, questions about the use of pork products – banned by some religious groups – have raised concerns about the potential disruption of the vaccination campaign. (AP Photo / Taton Sufflana)
Governments have taken steps to address this issue. In Malaysia, where the halal status of vaccination has been identified as the biggest issue among Muslim parents, strict legislation has been enacted so that parents must vaccinate their children or pass the time of fines and imprisonment easily. In Pakistan, where vaccine confidence is declining for religious and political reasons, parents have been jailed for refusing to vaccinate their children against polio.
But amid growing vaccination hesitation and misinformation around the world, including religious communities, Rashid said community involvement was “absolutely necessary.”
It can be disastrous if strong community engagement is not made by governments and healthcare activists.
The UK has called for a ban on European nations to prevent the spread of coronavirus mutations. Is banned by.
In Indonesia, the government has already said it will involve a Muslim clerk’s body in the Kovid-19 vaccine procurement and certification process.
“Public communication about the status, price, quality and distribution of halal should be well prepared,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in October.
While they were in China in the fall, Indonesian clerics inspected China’s Synovac Biotech facilities and clinical trials involving 1,620 volunteers in Indonesia for the company’s vaccine are also underway. The government has announced several Covid-19 vaccine procurement deals with the company in crores of doses.
Synovac Biotech, as well as Chinese companies Sinofarm and Cancino Biologics – all of which have Covid-19 vaccines in end-stage clinical trials and deals to sell millions of doses worldwide – have not responded to an Associated Press request for component information.
In China, no Kovid-19 vaccine has been finally approved on the market, but more than 1 million health care workers and others who are considered at risk of infection have received the vaccine under emergency use permission. The companies have not yet disclosed how effective the vaccine is or the possible side effects.
Pakistan is the end-stage clinical trials of the Cancino Biologics vaccine. Bangladesh had earlier signed an agreement with Synovac Biotech to conduct clinical trials in the country, but the trials have been delayed due to a funding dispute. Both countries have the largest Muslim population in the world.
Click here to get the Fox News app
While health care workers on the ground in Indonesia are still struggling to contain the virus as the numbers grow, Waqar said the government’s efforts to reassure Indonesians would be the key to a successful vaccination campaign as the use of the Kovid-19 vaccine has been approved. .
But, he said, vaccine companies must also be part of such a community.
“The more transparent they are, the more open and honest they are about their product, the more likely it is that there will be communities that believe in the product and will be able to discuss what they want to do,” he said.
“Because, ultimately, it’s a choice of individuals.”
Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan of Jakarta, Indonesia, and Ilan Ben Zion of Jerusalem contributed to this report.
