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An “Associated Press” report reported that there are concerns about vaccination campaigns against Corona, due to religious objections to the use of pork products in vaccine storage.
The agency noted that as companies compete to develop the Corona vaccine, and countries compete to secure doses, attitudes against the use of banned pork products by some religious groups raise concerns about the possibility of interrupting immunization campaigns. .
The report explained that gelatin derived from pork is being widely used as a stabilizing agent to ensure that vaccines remain safe and effective during storage and transportation.
Some companies are reported to have worked for years to develop pork-free vaccines, including that the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis, produced a pork-free vaccine against meningitis, while EG Pharma in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia is currently working on the production of a vaccine. Of your own.
The agency quoted Dr Salman Waqar, secretary general of the British Islamic Medical Association, as saying: “But current demand, supply chains, cost and the shorter lifespan of gelatin-free vaccines suggest that this component will continue. being used in most vaccines for years. “
Spokesmen for the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca stated that “pork products are not part of their Covid-19 vaccines. But limited supply and pre-existing millions of dollars worth of deals with other companies mean some countries with a large number of Muslims, such as Indonesia, will receive vaccines as gelatin-free, which have not yet been approved.
Dr Harunur Rashid, an assistant professor at the University of Sydney, said that the consensus on previous discussions of the use of pork gelatin in vaccines is that it is allowed under Islamic law, because it can cause more harm if not used. vaccinations
The assessment itself also garners broad consensus from religious leaders in the Orthodox Jewish community.
The report touched a precedent that had “serious consequences for the health of Indonesia, which has the largest number of Muslims in the world, some 225 million.”
This happened in 2018 when the Indonesian Ulema Council, the specialized Islamic religious body, issued the decision that measles and rubella vaccines are either banned or illegal due to gelatin.
Religious leaders began urging parents not to allow their children to be vaccinated, prompting a spike in measles cases after that and making Indonesia the third highest rate of measles in the world.
Source: Russia today
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